Now here's an overseas success story

[CountDeMoney]

The Other Facebook Founder
Atop $2 Billion Fortune, Eduardo Saverin Gave Up Silicon Valley for Singapore's Tech, Society Scene
wsj.com

SINGAPORE—Facebook Inc. founder Mark Zuckerberg is one of the most famous chief executives in the world. His former business partner and friend, Eduardo Saverin, is big in Singapore.

The Brazilian-born billionaire became a household name in 2010 when his skirmishes with Mr. Zuckerberg over the future of Facebook were dramatized in the Hollywood film "The Social Network," which portrayed Mr. Saverin as a nice—but naive—young entrepreneur. Mr. Saverin was squeezed out of Facebook early on, and found his stake in the Internet juggernaut diluted to less than 10% from 34%. Today, after further dilution and the sale of some of his shares, his stake is about 2%, according to a person familiar with the matter.

But 2% can go a long way, given that Facebook is expected to go public this month with a valuation of as much as $95 billion. It can go especially far in Singapore, a major financial center better known for banning the sale of chewing gum and caning criminals than for a thriving technology scene or big celebrities.

Since his arrival, the 30-year-old Mr. Saverin has attracted intense interest here. Singaporeans keep track of his nocturnal social habits and gossip about his love life and flashy style. Many of them hoped he would reach deep into his pockets to fund local tech start-ups, but so far his investments here, which have included backing a local cosmetics company, have been limited.

Mr. Saverin is regularly spotted lounging with models and wealthy friends at local nightclubs, racking up tens of thousands of dollars in bar tabs by ordering bottles of Cristal Champagne and Belvedere vodka, according to people present on these occasions. He drives a Bentley, his friends say, wears expensive jackets and lives in one of Singapore's priciest penthouse apartments.

Mr. Saverin didn't respond to multiple interview requests.

Other Facebook founders have followed a somewhat different path, at least publicly. Mr. Zuckerberg is most often seen in public walking his dog, and continues to wear his signature zip-up hoodies and drive an Acura. Fellow Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz launched a work-collaboration start-up and has pledged, along with Mr. Zuckerberg, to give half his wealth to charity. The fourth Facebook co-founder, Chris Hughes, worked for Barack Obama's presidential campaign and recently bought a controlling stake in The New Republic.

With scores of fans hoping for a sighting, Mr. Saverin holds a Kardashian-like status in Singapore. Local websites have set up forums with threads entitled "Where does one meet Eduardo Saverin in Singapore?" while bloggers and journalists have written lengthy posts after spending mere seconds with the billionaire.

Singapore's Tatler, a high-society magazine, added him to its "300 List," which celebrates the biggest power players here, including a shipping-container magnate. Mr. Saverin's Facebook posts, which range from updates on his investment company to pictures from travels across the region and nostalgic reflections on Facebook itself, receive thousands of "likes" and comments, with hundreds leaving messages hoping to meet the man in person.

"Eduardo, I need to talk to you sir. For real! Hit me up," said one Facebook user, Adauto Medeiros, on Mr. Saverin's public Facebook page.

Mr. Saverin, who hails from a wealthy Brazilian family, has never fully articulated why he moved to Singapore in late 2009, though he has mentioned its strategic location and business-friendly environment in his few public appearances. Those close to him say he once stopped off there while traveling in Asia and liked it.

The city-state has tried to become an Internet-technology hub, with limited success. But it is increasingly known as a playground for the rich, with the world's highest percentage of millionaires, and for its glitzy night life, which has flourished since the opening of two major casinos in 2010.

Its tightly controlled local media is largely free of the tabloids that hound celebrities in places like the U.S. Local press reports have referred to Mr. Saverin as a "Facebook legend," "nice and humble" and "generous" when spending on his friends in nightclubs. Night-life magazines refer to him as one of "Singapore's hottest partygoers."

Though Mr. Saverin speaks at select conferences, he is extremely media-shy, often declining to talk to the media.

Many public-relations firms have been vying to represent the billionaire, but he isn't reachable through formal settings and hardly gives out name cards. Aspiring start-ups and conference organizers often having to get in touch through mutual, high-society friends.

Mr. Saverin has invested in a number of start-ups, mainly back in the U.S., including Shopsavvy, a price-comparison mobile application; Qwiki, a multimedia video website; and Jumio, a mobile-payments start-up. Mr. Saverin put more than $6.5 million each into those northern California-based companies, which have attracted the attention of other venture capitalists.

Mr. Saverin's most notable local investment is in Singapore-based Anideo, headed chiefly by Andrew Solimine, a longtime friend. The company has developed a video-streaming application, Denso, that specializes in selecting videos based on a user's personal taste.

Although many of his investments are viewed as promising, none has been nearly as successful as Facebook, to the disappointment of local techies who had hoped his presence would kick-start the country's entrepreneurial scene.

"Eduardo doesn't invest in much. He doesn't invest in Singapore companies," grouses John Fearon, CEO of Singapore-based start-ups dropmysite.com and dropmyemail.com that back up emails and website content using cloud computing. He says he didn't ask Mr. Saverin for money. "He doesn't set up his stall and say, come to me for investment."

Some of Mr. Saverin's other projects have been less conventional, including a cosmetics line launched in 2010 by Rachel Kum, Singapore's 2009 entry in the Miss Universe pageant. Mr. Saverin—who invested an undisclosed sum in the company, according to people familiar with the matter—was shown in a TV news report about the line's debut in footage showing him flanked by leggy models.

The Eduardo Saverin fan club includes government and corporate leaders, who routinely invite him to speak at conferences and other functions. He doesn't have a great record of showing up, though, organizers say.

Mr. Saverin was invited to judge pitches for start-up companies last June at Echelon 2011, a conference sponsored by Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and others. "It was exciting because "The Social Network" movie had come out, there was a buzz about him being in Singapore, and he had just made headlines as one of the world's youngest billionaires," said Joon Ian Wong, who then worked for E27, the conference organizer. "Start-ups wanted to...see Saverin in the flesh," said Mr. Wong.

But hours before he was due onstage, Mr. Saverin canceled via text message, saying that he wasn't feeling well and would be unable to make it. People familiar with the matter say he has canceled other appearances at the 11th hour.

None of that has dimmed his star in Singapore, though.

From a pure branding perspective, Mr. Saverin's activities are good for the city-state, says Ash Singh, an investor and the CEO behind "Angel's Gate," an Asia-based reality-TV series focusing on investment and entrepreneurship. "Is Eduardo an entrepreneur? I don't know," he says. "But he did well for himself, he has come here, there is a movie about him, and people aspire to be like him."