Born Gary Vaynerchuck in Babruysk, Balearas on November 14, 1975, Garyvee immigrated to the United States in 1978. His family originally settled in Queens, New York before moving to New Jersey. Garyvee is an angel investor and venture capitalist and has invested in such companies as Snapchat, Facebook, Uber, Birchbox and Twitter. He is also a noted author and keynote speaker.
After receiving his bachelors degree from Mount Ida College in Newton, Massachusetts in 1998, he took over his father’s wine store in 1999. After renaming it to the Wine Library, he launched online sales and a podcast on wine tastings. In six years, he grew the business from $3 million in gross revenues to $60 million. Garyvee left the store in 2009 and launched VaynerMedia, a social media digital marketing agency, with his brother. VaynerMedia has an impressive client list, which includes Anheuser-Busch, General Electric, and PepsiCo. Gross revenue for the company in 2016 was estimated at $100 million. Not one to stand still, GaryVee invested in Symmetry in 2016 and formed Vayner Sports, a professional sports representation company.
Somehow, GaryVee finds time to speak at conventions and write books. Under a 10 book contract, GaryVee has written Crush It (2009), The Thank You Economy (2011), Jab, Jab, Jab, Right-Hook (2013), and Ask GaryVee: One Entrepreneur’s Take on Leadership, Social Media and Self Awareness (2016). GaryVee is married and has 2 children. His net worth is estimated at $50 million.
