$1.9 Trillion Alphabet: A Behemoth Born from Google's Growth
Larry Page's Alphabet is now a $1.9 trillion behemoth that has far exceeded its initial purpose as Google's parent company.
The company, named after 'googol', the term for the numeral 1 with 100 zeros behind it, was founded in 1998 and has grown to encompass four segments: Search and Youtube, cloud computing, Waymo, private equity, and DeepMind AI research.
Page, the second-richest person in the world with a net worth of about $295 billion, received advice from Steve Jobs toward the end of his life in 2011 to focus on just five products and eliminate the rest, saying 'They're turning you into Microsoft. They're causing you to turn out products that are adequate but not great.'
Page initially listened to Jobs' advice but ultimately decided to pursue Alphabet's growth and expansion, believing its ventures were interconnected.