As one of the most talked-about figures, Sky Dayton has built a significant fortune. In this article, we dive deep into the assets and career highlights.
What is Sky Dayton's net worth?
When he was 19, Dayton launched his own business with funds from family and friends: an art gallery and coffee house in Los Angeles called Mocha Gallery. While managing the business, he and his friend Adam Wicks Walker opened an advertising and design firm in Studio City. The firm served such high-profile entertainment clients as Disney, Warner Brothers, and Columbia Pictures.
In 1993, Dayton saw the Internet as the next big thing in mass communication. Seeking to create a simple, user-friendly dial-up Internet service provider, he co-founded EarthLink in 1994 with Kevin O'Donnell and Reed Slatkin. EarthLink soon attracted investments from Greg B. Abbott, Robert Kavner, and Chip Lacy, among others. By the summer of 1995, the company reached a deal with UUNET allowing it to provide its service nationwide. EarthLink grew exponentially over the subsequent years, and in 1998 it became the default Internet service provider pre-loaded on the iMac. This led to a $200 million investment in the company by Apple. Soon, EarthLink was the second largest Internet service provider in the United States, behind only AOL. It was also the first ISP to provide nationwide high-speed Internet access via DSL.
Sky Dayton was born on August 8, 1971 in New York City to poet and flutist Alice Pero and sculptor Wendell Dayton. Shortly after he was born, the family moved to Los Angeles. Dayton lived for a time with his maternal grandfather David DeWitt, an IBM Fellow who played a formative part in introducing Dayton to the world of technology. Dayton received his first computer, a Sinclair ZX81, when he was nine years old. He was educated at the Delphian School in Oregon, a private boarding school that uses the study techniques of Scientology founderL. Ron Hubbard. Aspiring to be an animator, Dayton applied to CalArts, but was rejected for being too young.
Sky Dayton is an American entrepreneur who has a net worth of $300 million. Sky Dayton built his fortune as the co-founder of the Internet service provider EarthLink. He went on to co-found eCompanies and found Boingo Wireless, among other companies. Dayton has also invested in numerous tech companies over the years, including Diffbot, Joby Aviation, and Ring.
Dayton co-founded another company, eCompanies, in 1999. An incubator and venture capital fund for the development of Internet companies, it successfully launched the consumer finance website LowerMyBills.com and the video game development studio JAMDAT Mobile. Dayton and eCompanies also purchased the Business.com domain name for $7.5 million during the height of the dotcom bubble; the domain was later sold to RH Donnelly for $345 million.
In lieu of going to college, Dayton began an entry-level job at an advertising firm in Burbank, California. Within three months, he was heading the firm's graphics department. Dayton eventually moved to a larger advertising firm, Mednick & Associates.
Ultimately, Sky Dayton's financial journey is a testament to their success.
Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.