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Robert Parsons
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| Robert Parsons | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Organization: | Bob and Renee Parsons Foundation |
| Role: | Co-founder |
| Location: | Phoenix, Ariz. |
| Education: | University of Baltimore |
As of 2016, Robert "Bob" Parsons was the founder of GoDaddy, an Internet domain name and hosting company. He retired from the corporation in 2014 to focus on philanthropy with the Bob and Renee Parsons Foundation.[1]
Career
Parsons served in Vietnam, earning a Purple Heart in 1970, before moving back to his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, to work in a steel mill. He enrolled at the University of Baltimore, graduating in 1975 with a degree in accounting. After college, Parsons taught himself how to use BASIC coding and began a technology company, Parsons Technology, which sold personal financial management software.[2] Parsons sold the company in 1994 to Intuit for $64 million and moved to Arizona to retire.[3]
In retirement, Parsons started a domain name company, originally called Jomax Technologies and later changed to GoDaddy. The company sold low-cost Internet domain names and was "the first to sell private domain-name registrations, which keep a customer's identity out of the public database," according to CNN Money.[2] According to the Phoenix Business Journal, Parsons "became a billionaire after selling 72 percent of GoDaddy in 2011 for an estimated $930 million in cash. He’s still the single largest shareholder of the company."[4]
Foundation
In 2012, Bob and his wife Renee started the Bob and Renee Parsons Foundation, a philanthropic organization that focused on the Phoenix, Arizona, area. The two pledged to give over half of their net worth away during their lifetimes as part of The Giving Pledge. The foundation had six focus areas for giving: Youth, Medical, Veterans, Education, Homelessness, and the American Dream.[1]
Political activity
Ballot measure activity
Overview of ballot measure support and opposition
The following table details Robert Parsons' ballot measure stances available on Ballotpedia:
| Ballot measure support and opposition for Robert Parsons | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballot measure | Year | Position | Amount | Status |
| Arizona Education Finance Amendment, Proposition 123 | 2016 | Supported[5] | $500,000[5] |  Approved
|
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Robert Parsons'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bob and Renee Parsons Foundation, "Our Story," accessed August 26, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 CNN Money, "Who's Your Go Daddy?" February 28, 2007
- ↑ Bob Parsons Golfing, "Bob Parsons, Multi-industry Entrepreneur And Founder Of Godaddy," accessed August 26, 2016
- ↑ Phoenix Business Journal, "What makes Bob and Renee Parsons one of our Phoenix power couples," October 16, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Arizona Secretary of State, "2016 Financial Disclosure Statements," accessed May 19, 2016
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