It's been exactly one year since Facebook acquired mobile messaging company WhatsApp for $19 billion.
The groundbreaking deal made both of the app's cofounders billionaires.
Originally from Kiev, Ukraine, CEO Jan Koum moved with his family to the US when he was 16 years old. The family struggled and lived on welfare and food stamps.
With an estimated net worth of $6.8 billion, Koum has certainly come a long way since his food stamp days.
In a somewhat symbolic move, Koum signed the paperwork for the Facebook acquisition on the door of his former welfare office. The office is located just a few blocks away from WhatsApp's headquarters in Mountain View.
Suddenly, as of February 2014, Koum was a billionaire.
The WhatsApp team celebrated the Facebook deal by popping bottles of Cristal champagne. Igor Solomennikov, one of WhatsApp's first employees, posted this photo to Instagram, though he later took it down. A bottle of Cristal typically costs about $200.
Source: Business Insider
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