Google’s 2004 IPO made its founders among the world’s youngest billionaires.
Google went public in August 2004 through an unusual auction-style initial public offering. The company raised about US$1.67 billion, and co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin became billionaires because they retained substantial ownership in the rapidly growing search company.
Before the IPO, Google had already become a dominant internet search engine and had built a powerful advertising business. Its AdWords system connected ads with search queries, creating the main commercial engine behind the company’s expansion.
Google later became a subsidiary of Alphabet in 2015, but the Google name remains associated with the search engine, YouTube, Android, and many other products. The IPO is often described as a conventional stock-market launch, although its auction format was a distinctive feature.