Jack Dorsey: Why is Jack Dorsey resigning as Twitter CEO? Who will replace Dorsey and what's his net worth?

Jack Dorsey: Why is Jack Dorsey resigning as Twitter CEO? Who will replace Dorsey and what's his net worth? (Image credit: John Devlin/JPIMedia/AP)Jack Dorsey: Why is Jack Dorsey resigning as Twitter CEO? Who will replace Dorsey and what's his net worth? (Image credit: John Devlin/JPIMedia/AP)
Jack Dorsey: Why is Jack Dorsey resigning as Twitter CEO? Who will replace Dorsey and what's his net worth? (Image credit: John Devlin/JPIMedia/AP)
Twitter’s share price rose by more than 10% on Monday following reports that Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter, would be stepping down from his role as chief executive officer – here’s why

Twitter stock spiked by 11% in value on the last 24 hours on Monday (29 November) following reports that Twitter co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Jack Dorsey would be stepping down from his position at the company.

Dorsey has steered the company through controversies such as the platform’s decision to ban former US President Donald Trump from Twitter after the 6 January riots at the Capital and his refusal to accept his loss in the 2020 US Presidential Election.

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But the former Twitter CEO confirmed reports this afternoon, announcing his immediate resignation after 15 years at the platform on Monday afternoon.

Here’s why Jack Dorsey is stepping down, Dorsey’s net worth and who will replace him as Twitter CEO.

Why is Jack Dorsey stepping down as Twitter CEO?

Jack Dorsey, 45, announced his resignation as Twitter CEO today (29 November) after a number of reports signalled that he was due to step down from the company.

Dorsey co-founded Twitter in 2006 along with Biz Stone, Evan Williams and Noah Glass in March 2006, becoming the first person to send a tweet on the platform on 21 March 2006, when he tweeted “just setting up my twttr”.

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On Monday evening, following reports of his stepping down from the company, Dorsey confirmed his resignation from the company on Twitter.

"not sure anyone has heard but, I resigned from Twitter,” Dorsey tweeted.

In a letter attached to the tweet addressed to Twitter employees, Dorsey said: “After almost 16 years of having a role at our company...from co-founder to CEO to Chair to Exec Chair to interim-CEO to CEO… I decided it’s finally time for me to leave."

Explaining why, Dorsey continued: "There’s a lot of talk about the importance of a company being “founder-led.”

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“Ultimately I believe that’s severely limiting and a single point of failure.

"I’ve worked hard to ensure this company can break away from its founding and founders.”

Dorsey’s letter concluded with the Big Tech founder saying his “one wish is for Twitter Inc to be the most transparent company in the world.”

Twitter stock was trading up by 11% following CNBC’s initial, unconfirmed report on Dorsey’s resignation on Monday – spiking at $51.88 a share before falling from $49.38 to $46.83 as of 5.38pm UK time.

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Dorsey’s departure comes in the wake of his increased focus on cryptocurrencies, decentralised finance and FinTech, having co-founded PayPal digital payment rival Square, Inc in 2010.

The founder has maintained an interest in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency for some time, appearing at a major Bitcoin product launch with fellow Big Tech guru Elon Musk in August and replacing his Twitter bio with simply “#bitcoin”.

What is Jack Dorsey’s net worth?

According to Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index, Dorsey is worth roughly $12.3 billion (£9.25bn) as the co-founder of Twitter and Square, Inc.

In 2020, Dorsey set aside $1bn of his Square equity to support Covid-19 relief in the US and beyond – with the founder alleging that this sum represents some 28% of his wealth.

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Who will replace Jack Dorsey as Twitter CEO?

In Jack Dorsey’s resignation email sent to Twitter employees this afternoon, Dorsey requested that Chief Technology Officer of Parag Agrawal take over as Twitter CEO – saying his trust in Agrawal as new CEO was “bone deep”.

According to his LinkedIn, Parag Agrawal has a PhD in computer science from Stanford University and worked as a ‘Distinguished Software Engineer’ at Twitter for six years before becoming Chief Technology Officer of the company in October 2017.

Agrawal has become the new Twitter CEO effective immediately, tweeting his “deep gratitude for @jack and our entire team” and telling Dorsey he was “honored and humbled” to be taking his place as the new social media executive.

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