Two of tech unicorn Canva's cofounders who recently acquired billionaire status are setting aside a huge chunk of their wealth to start a foundation that aims to combat global wealth inequality and the climate crisis, Forbes reported.
Sydney-based Canva doubled in value to $15 billion during the pandemic as usage of the graphics editing app skyrocketed. This made its Filipino-Australian CEO Melanie Perkins and COO Cliff Obrecht billionaires aside from being a married couple.
Perkins and Obrecht each own about 15% of Canva, or roughly $2 billion.
“It’s not our vibe to hoard money,” Obrecht said. “What motivates us is building a product that people love. And the wealth that produces, we want to give back to the world," he added.
The two got engaged in Turkey two years ago where Obrecht proposed with a $30 ring.
Canva is the go-to platform of students and workers—beginners and not (because of the convenience)—for free templates of social media cards and presentations. It also has a library of free fonts, stock photos, among others, by which it has earned its reputation of democratizing design for a skill and time-deprived studentry and workforce.
Aside from Perkins and Obrecht, Cameron Adams also co-founded Canva as the chief product officer.
Canva's Manila office, its second biggest, was recently named one of the best workplaces in the Philippines.
Sources have told reportr that pre-pandemic, the company has an in-house team of chefs that cooks for employees but since it shifted to a work-from-home setup, that translated to at least, a P5,000-worth of monthly food allowance, on top of above-average benefits they receive.
MORE ON THE RICH:
Philippines' Billionaires Grew Richer During the Pandemic: Forbes
How Much are the Philippines' Billionaires Worth in Samgyupsal Currency?
Filipinos Love Crazy Rich Asians, Why Not The Real Life Rich
Reportr is now on Quento. Download the app on iOS and Android or visit the Quento website for more articles and videos from Reportr and your favorite websites.
