A Gen Xer sold his company for $1.6 billion. He kept less than $100 million and gave the rest away because he doesn’t ‘believe in billionaires’

Brian O’Kelley banked less than $100 million after selling his $1.6 billion startup AppNexus to AT&T—and gave the rest to charity. The Gen X CEO says billionaires with yachts and multiple mansions are “obnoxious,” and keeping a cap on his wealth keeps him grounded, accountable, and connected to reality. “I don’t get why you need $200 billion, $500 billion, or even $1 billion,” O’Kelley exclusively tells Fortune. 

What would you do if you became an overnight multimillionaire? That’s exactly what happened to Brian O’Kelley in 2018, when he sold his ad-tech company, AppNexus, to AT&T for $1.6 billion.

But instead of buying a yacht or a fleet of sports cars, O’Kelley sat down with his wife for what he calls a “really interesting conversation” about how much was enough—and everything else went to causes they care about. 

“I don’t believe in billionaires. I think it’s just ridiculous,” the serial entrepreneur exclusively told Fortune, adding he kept less than $100 million from his 10% stake in the startup after it was acquired.

“We just figured out a number that we thought was enough money—to be able to buy a house and things like that—and then we doubled it, and we gave the rest away.”

The 49-year-old is now building his third startup, a supply-chain emissions data company called Scope3. Still, he claims you’ll never catch him joining the billionaires club.

“I will never be that wealthy,” he said. “Even if........

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