Yuri Milner was born into a Jewish family on 11 November 1961 in Moscow, the second child of Soviet intellectuals.
Yuri Milner was born into a Jewish family on 11 November 1961 in Moscow, the second child of Soviet intellectuals. ◦ He worked at the Lebedev Physical Institute in theoretical physics under the supervision of future Nobel laureate Vitaly Ginzburg. ◦ After earning a degree in theoretical physics from Moscow State University in 1985, he pursued a Ph.D. in particle physics. ◦ In 1990, he became the first non-emigre from the Soviet Union to travel to the United States to receive a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at the Wharton School, a decision he made after being disappointed in himself as a physicist. ◦ With his father's support, he abandoned physics in 1990 to undertake M.B.A. studies at the University of Pennsylvania, which he did not complete. ◦ In 2005, he cofounded the holding company Digital Sky Technologies. ◦ In July 2012, Yuri and Julia Milner established the Breakthrough Prize, and in July 2015 he launched Breakthrough Initiatives to investigate the question of life in the Universe. ◦
Milner believes that scientific brilliance is currently under-capitalized, viewing philanthropy as a tool to correct market imbalances that over-reward bankers relative to great scientists. ◦ He believes that the Internet will eventually develop into a "global brain"—an intelligent network of individuals and machines functioning as a nervous system for the planet Earth. ◦ In Eureka Manifesto, he writes that humanity's mission is to "Explore and Understand our Universe." ◦ He argues that we are significant because of what we are and our capacity to explore and understand the Universe. ◦ He holds that the value of science does not depend on its applications and that it is our only way to tell the Universal Story. ◦ He frames the reward of this mission as the emergence of a civilization whose grandeur we can only guess at, driven by the coupling of science and technology into a feedback loop. ◦ He rejects the oligarch framing of himself, stating that he is a servant trying to align his interests and those of his investors with others. ◦
Milner abandoned physics in 1990 after finding success selling personal computers on the gray market and being disappointed in himself as a physicist. ◦◦ He practices contrarian investing, arguing that going against the flow is the path to disproportionate returns and that being criticized is a positive indicator of future success. ◦ He only invests in companies run by founders and maintains long-term commitments to founding teams rather than pursuing quick exits, sticking with them as long as they are pushing the envelope. ◦◦ He analyzes decisions based on their impact two, three, or five years in the future. ◦ In evaluating businesses, he does not rely on near-term metrics but values them on a longer term based on experience and confidence in future achievement. ◦
Milner models the Internet as a "global brain"—an intelligent network of individuals and machines serving as a nervous system for Earth. ◦ He views digital business through the lens of scale and margins, not revenues. ◦ He sees founders as installing their DNA with the first 10 or 15 people they hire. ◦ He applies a long-horizon framing to valuations, looking past immediate basis years to longer-term achievement. ◦ He frames science and technology as a feedback loop that can drive civilization toward unimaginable grandeur. ◦ He believes our brains are modern but our understanding is still primitive. ◦
Milner's background is in theoretical and particle physics, having studied at Moscow State University and worked at the Lebedev Physical Institute. ◦◦ In digital business, he argues that the fundamental economics are scale and margins rather than revenues, and that user-generated content is "very magical" from a margin standpoint. ◦ He holds that social is a better way to interact with the digital world than search, and he disputed consensus views by asserting that there is a business model for social networks. ◦ He predicted that the Wal-Mart of China would be an online company. ◦ He forecasts an era for people with a mathematical state of mind. ◦
Milner is notably private, rarely giving interviews and having spoken in public at only a handful of media conferences. ◦ His company's website at one point simply displayed the name Digital Sky Technologies and a generic e-mail address, earning him the label "Facebook's faceless man." ◦ When he does speak, he speaks plainly and confidently, explaining investments in direct terms. ◦
Milner abandoned physics after being disappointed in himself and selling computers on the gray market, yet later became one of the world's largest private funders of pure science through the Breakthrough Prize and Breakthrough Initiatives. ◦◦ He is known as "Facebook's faceless man" for his notable privacy and minimal public presence, yet he writes in Eureka Manifesto that humanity's mission is to "Explore and Understand our Universe," offering a public declaration of universal purpose. ◦◦ He did not complete his M.B.A. studies, yet built a holding company that invested roughly $1 billion across more than two dozen businesses and made early investments in Facebook, Groupon, Zynga, Spotify, and Twitter. ◦
Milner is rarely accessible through traditional media channels, having spoken at only a handful of conferences and maintaining a minimal public-facing presence. ◦ He invests exclusively in companies run by founders and commits to them as long as they continue pushing the envelope. ◦◦ He describes himself as a servant seeking to align his interests and those of his investors with the interests of others. ◦
> "Scientific brilliance is currently under-capitalized. If the market dictates that a top banker can earn a thousand times more than a great scientist, then this is an area where philanthropy can make a world of difference." ◦
> "If you want to get disproportionate returns, go against flow." ◦
> "being criticized is a positive indicator that you are going to succeed." ◦
> "I only invest in companies that are run by founders." ◦
> "A founder installs his DNA with the first 10 or 15 people he hires." ◦
> "It's not about revenues: The fundamental economics in digital business is scale and margins." ◦
> "Social is a better way to interact with the digital world. It is better than search." ◦
> "I must analyze, from what I do now, what will be the impact two or three or five years in the future." ◦
> "Explore and Understand our Universe - To explore, with our eyes and our technologies, as far as we can, out across the reaches of space and time, down into the heart of light and matter." ◦
> "We are significant not because of where we are in the Universe, but because of what we are. Because we have the capacity to explore and understand that Universe, far beyond the bounds of our own little slice of space and time." ◦
> "Our brains are modern, but our understanding is still primitive." ◦
> "the value of science does not depend on its applications. It is our only way to tell the Universal Story, and it needs no other justification." ◦
> "An oligarch is someone who can influence people and rule and have power. I am a servant. I am trying to align my interests and those of my investors to them." ◦
> "Because it's a great business." ◦
> "We don't really value this business on basis 2009 but rather on a longer term, based again on our experience, and we're very confident that those numbers can be achieved." ◦