Uber is gearing up for its stock market launch on Friday, when investors will reap their rewards for backing the company.
The launch will be one of the biggest initial public offerings in history, with the firm estimated to be worth between $80billion and $90billion.
If those estimates prove correct then founders Travis Kalanick and Garret Camp will net billions each when the bell rings at the New York Stock Exchange.
Kalanick was previously reported to be in line for a $9billion payday, but Uber’s value has since been revised down, putting his potential takings around $7billion.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Shark Tank investor Chris Sacca also made large investments Uber early on and look set to make millions.
Travis Kalanick, the bad boy co-founder of Uber, is set to make in excess of $7billion Friday when his company goes on the stock market
Kalanick (left) will pocket the money despite being forced to resign as CEO after a workplace culture of sexual harassment and sexism was exposed. Meanwhile Garret Camp (right), Kalanick’s co-founder, is set to make in excess of $5billion
Among the other big winners will be investment fund manager Matt Cohler, whose firm Benchmark holds 11 per cent of Uber’s stock, putting it in line for a windfall north of $9billion, based on current estimates.
Cohler, a 42-year-old Yale graduate, has helped launch some of the biggest names in tech including LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Uber, Tinder and Bitcoin.
Uber drivers will also be offered bonuses with which to buy shares, with rewards capping out at $40,000 for those who have made more than 40,000 trips.
However, some are unhappy with what they see as a meagre payout for enduring otherwise low wages and poor working conditions, with protesters taking to the streets ahead of the launch.
Kalanick, known as the ‘bad boy of tech’ for his aggressive workplace ethic, owns 8.6 per cent of Uber’s stock and is in line for a payout of around $7.4billion, provided the company hits the mid-point of its valuation.
Meanwhile Camp, with a 6 per cent stake in the firm, is in line for $5.2billion.
Bezos, who invested some $3million early in the business’s existence, could see that increase to around $400million.
Kalanick will get his money despite becoming one of the scalps of the MeToo movement when he was was forced out by Uber’s board in 2017.
While Kalanick was not accused of anything himself, he was held responsible for encouraging a workplace ethic where women said sexual harassment and sexism was commonplace.
Kalanick was also made infamous for his business buzz-phrases such as Always Be Hustlin’, Fierceness, Superpumpedness, and Toe-Stepping.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (pictured this week at the Met Gala) is also set for a $400million windfall after becoming one of the earliest investors in the firm
Chris Sacca, best known as one of the investors on Shark Tank, is also set for a large windfall if all goes according to plan on Friday
Silicon Valley power-couple Cyan (left) and Scott Banister, who are among the backers of SpaceX and PayPal, are also heavy invested in Uber
Workers said this fostered an atmosphere of bullying within the firm.
Camp, his co-founder, is less notorious but well-known within the tech world as the founder of StumbleUpon.
They are not the only ones in line to make a fortune on the offering.
Scott and Cyan Banister, a Silicon Valley power-couple who are also involved with firms such as SpaceX and PayPal, count Uber shares as part of their portfolios.
Uber went through 18 rounds of fundraising, raising a total of $22billion, ahead of Friday’s public opening.
Venture capital funds were among heavy investors in those rounds, with the likes of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Blackrock all making the list.
The sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia was also among late but heavy investors in the business.
Other names on the list include Adam Leber, a talent manager whose clients have included Miley Cyrus; Jeremy Stoppelman, the CEO of Yelp; and Gary Vaynerchuk, a wine critic turned internet personality and author.
Drivers are also set to receive a small windfall from the offering, but some took to the streets around the world to protest low wages ahead of the launch
Uber set an estimated price range of between $44 and $50 per share in a filing it made last month.
An inside source told the network this week that the company would likely be seeking a final price somewhere in the middle to low end of that range, putting its value around the $86billion mark.
That price, while still high, marks a significant drop from initial estimates that valued the company around the $100billion mark.
There are fears that Uber could have a rocky entry on to the stock market, after rival ride-sharing firm Lyft went public on March 29.
The company’s share price, which started at $72 per share with a total value of $15billion, has fallen consistently ever since and is now around $53.
Neither Lyft nor Uber has ever turned a profit, and there are signs their revenue growth is slowing down.
Other tech IPOs have been similarly fraught, with Facebook’s launch in 2012 – then the biggest in tech – being plagued with issues.
While the firm was initially valued at $38 per share – $104billion in total – that price quickly fell to $27 after two weeks, losing investors $40billion in the process.
Facebook shares are now worth around $190 each.