Evan Thomas Spiegel (born June 4, 1990, in Los Angeles, California) is an American and French businessman who co-founded Snapchat and serves as CEO of Snap Inc., its parent company. He grew up in the affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, attended Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences and Stanford University, where he studied product design and developed early photo-sharing app prototypes with classmates Bobby Murphy and Reggie Brown. In 2011, while still a student, he co-founded Snapchat (initially called Picaboo) with Murphy and Brown, creating an app that allowed users to send disappearing photos and videos, revolutionizing social media by emphasizing ephemeral content. Spiegel dropped out of Stanford in 2012 to focus on the company full-time. The app gained popularity among younger users, becoming a major social media competitor to Meta Platforms. Spiegel became CEO of Snap Inc., which incorporated in 2012 and went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2017 under the ticker SNAP. Under his leadership, Snap expanded into augmented reality with products like Spectacles and other hardware, though the company has faced challenges with profitability, competition from Instagram and TikTok, and stock volatility. He was recognized as the world's youngest self-made billionaire in 2015 at age 25, and as of August 2025, his net worth is approximately $2.5 billion according to Forbes, down from peaks over $10 billion due to market fluctuations. Spiegel married Australian supermodel Miranda Kerr in 2017, and they have three sons: Hart (born 2018), Myles (born 2019), and Pierre (born 2024). He obtained French citizenship in 2023, reflecting his partial French ancestry. As CEO, he has emphasized privacy and user experience while navigating market challenges. Spiegel has been involved in philanthropy through the Spiegel Family Fund, focusing on education and environmental causes. His career has not been without controversy: in 2013, Reggie Brown sued Spiegel and Murphy, alleging he co-invented Snapchat and was ousted unfairly; the case settled in 2014 for an undisclosed amount reported to be around $157.5 million. Snap Inc. has faced multiple lawsuits over intellectual property, user privacy, and workplace culture, including allegations of gender discrimination in 2017 that led to executive departures. Critics have accused Spiegel of fostering a 'bro culture' at the company and prioritizing growth over user safety, particularly regarding teen mental health and content moderation. Despite these issues, Spiegel remains a prominent figure in Silicon Valley, known for his focus on innovative user experiences and long-term vision for augmented reality.