Silicon Valley's Humble Billionaire

Photograph by Martin Dee/UBC
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It’s a Saturday afternoon in Palo Alto, Calif., and there goes David Cheriton, navigating the Silicon Valley suburb’s tony downtown on his bike. “That guy is a billionaire,” I tell my family. “Really? He looks like he could be a homeless guy,” responds my wife.

Ever blunt, the wife has a point. Cheriton’s mess of curly hair stretches out from the confines of his biking helmet, and his beard has a certain mountain man aesthetic. There’s no monocle or bespoke Italian suit. Just a skinny dude on a simple bike in casual clothes.