By Bitcoin evangelist Michael Saylor has seen his net worth soar due to his aggressive strategy of acquiring a huge trove of bitcoin.
The cofounder and chairman of MicroStrategy has seen his net worth rise to at least $11.4 billion this year, driven by a resurgence in the price of bitcoin and a subsequent rally in his company’s stock.
His wealth is largely derived from his 11.9% stake in MicroStrategy. At the start of the year, Saylor’s stake in MicroStrategy was worth about $1.3 billion.
Shares of MicroStrategy have soared 674% year-to-date as the company continues its bitcoin buying spree.
Microstrategy announced in October that it plans to raise $42 billion to buy even more bitcoin. Since that announcement, its stock has more than doubled.
MicroStrategy owns 331,200 bitcoins as of November 18, acquired at an average cost of $49,874 per bitcoin.
The price of bitcoin hit a record high on Wednesday, rising nearly 3% to $94,592.
Bitcoin has touched fresh highs as crypto investors have been invigorated by Donald Trump’s election win earlier this month. He has signaled that his administration would embrace the crypto industry and even consider establishing a US government bitcoin reserve.
And Saylor thinks bitcoin can go even higher.
In an interview with CNBC in September, he predicted that the price of bitcoin could soar to $13 million by 2045.
“My long-term forecast is that [Bitcoin’s] going to go to $13 million over 21 years,” Saylor told CNBC. “Bitcoin is 0.1% of the capital in the world right now — I think it’s going to go to 7% of the capital.”
MicroStrategy’s bet on bitcoin, which began in August 2020, has massively paid off, as evidenced by MicroStrategy stock eclipsing its dot-com bubble high earlier this month.
Shares of MicroStrategy peaked at $333 per share in March 2000 before it experienced a painful 99.9% decline to a low of $0.49 per share in July 2002. Since then, the stock has soared 116,300% to a record high of $488.88 on Wednesday.
