Dropping Out in the Final Year: A Dropout Amasses a Fortune of Over $19 Billion

Due to his father's battle with pancreatic cancer, Ghiom Bouzaz left university in his final year while studying economics in Switzerland, hoping to become an investment banker. He then moved to work for a payment processing company in the United States in 2005 before founding his online payment company, Checkout, in 2012. Last week, the startup raised $1 billion from investors, including Tiger Global Management and Qatar Investment Authority, and the company's valuation has been set at $40 billion. This valuation places Bouzaz's share at $19.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which was reviewed by Al Arabiyah.net. The London-based company stated that the funds will be used for expansion in the United States and investment in technology. The recent valuation indicates that Checkout's value has nearly tripled over the past year, making it one of the latest fintech companies to attract substantial amounts from investors. Similar to Checkout, the UK-based company Revolut saw its value increase sixfold in July compared to its last funding round in 2020, while mobile payment company Stripe became the largest startup in the United States in March, with a valuation of $95 billion. Checkout has rapidly expanded since Bouzaz, 40, launched the company in 2012. Over the past year, the company has opened new offices in six countries, bringing the total number of countries it operates in to nearly 20.