Who Is Jason Citron? Wiki, Biography, Net Worth, Age, Wife, Family, Qualifications, and More
Jason Citron (born 21 September 1987, Age: 36 years old) is an American entrepreneur and developer who is best known for creating Discord, one of the largest and most successful chat platforms for gamers. Discord, which was launched in 2015, has over 150 million users and is valued at $15 billion as of 2024.
Citron is also the co-founder of OpenFeint, a social gaming network that was acquired by GREE for $104 million in 2011. Citron has a net worth of approximately $800 million, according to some sources.
Early Life and Education
Citron was born on September 21, 1987, in San Francisco, California. He grew up in a family of businessmen, as his father and grandfather were both involved in the electricity consulting industry. Citron developed a passion for technology and gaming at a young age, thanks to his father’s influence and support.
He taught himself how to code using QBASIC and created his first video game when he was 13. He also took a computer programming class in school and worked as a freelancer, writing codes for different websites.
Citron pursued his dream of becoming a game developer and enrolled in Full Sail University in Florida, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in game design and development. He moved to San Francisco after graduating and started working as a game programmer for various companies, such as Stormfront Studios, Double Fine Productions, and Papaya Studio.
Jason Citron Wiki/Bio
| Name | Jason Citron |
| Birth Date | September 21, 1987 |
| Birth Place | San Francisco, California, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Ashkenazi Jewish |
| Religion | None |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, Developer, CEO |
| Education | Full Sail University (BS in Game Design and Development) |
| Net Worth | $3 million (estimated) |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Spouse | Name Not Known |
| Children | Unknown |
| Social Media | Facebook: jasoncitron LinkedIn: jasoncitron Twitter: jasoncitron Instagram: jasoncitron |
| Homepage | newsunzip.com |
Career and Achievements
Citron’s career took off when he founded OpenFeint in 2009, along with Peter Relan and Danielle Cassley. OpenFeint was a social gaming platform that allowed mobile game developers to add features such as leaderboards, achievements, chat, and multiplayer to their games. OpenFeint quickly gained popularity and reached over 100 million users and 7,000 games by 2011. It was then acquired by GREE, a Japanese gaming company, for $104 million.
After selling OpenFeint, Citron became an entrepreneur-in-residence at YouWeb, an incubator that helped him launch OpenFeint. He then decided to pivot from game development to chat platform development, as he saw a need for a better communication tool for gamers. He teamed up with his childhood friend Stanislav Vishnevskiy, who shared his love for video games and co-founded Discord in 2015.
Discord is a chat platform that allows gamers to create and join servers, where they can talk with their friends and other players using text, voice, and video. Discord also supports streaming, sharing, and creating content, such as memes, gifs, and emojis. Discord’s main goal is to bring gamers together and create a sense of community and belonging.
Discord has grown rapidly since its launch and has become one of the top communication tools for gamers and beyond. Discord has over 150 million users, 6.7 million active servers, and 19 billion messages per month as of 2024. Discord is also valued at $15 billion, after raising $500 million in a Series H funding round led by Tiger Global Management in December 2023.
Citron is the CEO of Discord and oversees the vision, strategy, and growth of the company. He is also involved in the product development and engineering aspects of the platform. Citron has received several awards and recognitions for his achievements, such as being named one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company in 2011, one of the 40 Under 40 by Fortune in 2018, and one of the 50 Most Innovative Leaders by Bloomberg Businessweek in 2020.
Personal Life, Spouse & Kids
Citron is married, but his wife’s name is not publicly known. He lives in Florida with his family and enjoys spending time with his friends. He is also an avid gamer and plays games such as World of Warcraft, League of Legends, and Fortnite.
Net Worth and Income Sources
According to some sources, Jason Citron’s net worth is estimated to be around $3 million as of 2022. His main source of income is his profession as the CEO and founder of Discord, which is valued at $15 billion as of 2024. Discord generates revenue from its premium subscription service called Nitro, which offers users extra features such as custom emojis, animated avatars, higher quality video and audio, and server boosting.
Discord also earns money from partnerships with game developers and publishers, such as Epic Games, Xbox, and PlayStation, who use the platform to promote their games and offer exclusive perks to Discord users. Discord has raised over $1.2 billion in funding from various investors, such as Tencent, Index Ventures, Spark Capital, and Tiger Global Management.
Physical Stats
- Height: 5 feet 9 inches
- Weight: 65 kilograms
- Eye Color: Black
- Hair Color: Black
Controversies
Jason Citron has faced some controversies and challenges as the CEO of Discord, especially regarding the moderation and safety of the platform. Discord has been used by some users for illegal or harmful purposes, such as distributing child sexual abuse material, coordinating harassment campaigns, spreading hate speech, and organizing extremist activities.
Discord has been criticized for not doing enough to prevent or remove such content and users from its platform, and for relying too much on community self-moderation. Discord has also been accused of violating user privacy and data protection laws, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union.
Some of the notable controversies and incidents involving Discord are:
- In 2017, Discord was used by some of the participants of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, a violent white supremacist event that resulted in one death and several injuries. Discord shut down several servers and accounts associated with the rally and condemned the violence and hatred.
- In 2018, The Daily Beast uncovered Discord servers distributing revenge porn and facilitating real-world harassment, which led to Discord shutting down these servers and banning users involved.
- In 2019, Discord was sued by a user who claimed that the platform violated his privacy rights by collecting and selling his data without his consent. The lawsuit alleged that Discord violated the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the GDPR by failing to inform users about its data collection and sharing practices, and by not providing users with the option to opt-out or delete their data.
- In 2020, Discord was banned in China, along with several other foreign apps and websites, as part of the Chinese government’s censorship and surveillance efforts. Discord users in China reported that they could not access the platform or its servers, and that they had to use VPNs or other methods to bypass the firewall.
- In 2021, Discord faced backlash from some of its users after it announced that it was exploring the possibility of integrating non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and ethereum wallets into its platform. Some users expressed concerns about the environmental impact, ethical issues, and security risks of NFTs and cryptocurrencies, and threatened to cancel their Nitro subscriptions or leave the platform altogether. Discord later clarified that it was not planning to launch NFTs or ethereum wallets anytime soon, and that it was only testing the waters and listening to feedback.
Nationality, Ethnicity, and Religion
Jason Citron is an American citizen, as he was born and raised in San Francisco, California. His ethnicity is Ashkenazi Jewish, as his family has roots in Eastern Europe. He is not religious, but he has identified himself as Jewish in some interviews.
Social Media Presence
Citron is active on social media and has accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. He uses these platforms to share his thoughts, opinions, and updates on Discord and gaming. He also interacts with his fans and followers and answers their questions and feedback. He has over 200,000 followers on Twitter, over 100,000 followers on Instagram, over 50,000 followers on Facebook, and over 20,000 connections on LinkedIn.
Jason Citron is a successful entrepreneur and developer who has created two of the most popular and influential platforms for gamers: OpenFeint and Discord. He is passionate about gaming and technology and has used his skills and creativity to solve problems and create solutions for the gaming community. He is also a leader and a visionary who has built a company that values diversity, inclusion, and innovation. He is an inspiration and a role model for many aspiring entrepreneurs and developers, especially in the gaming industry.
