Greg Kouri

Gregory Anthony Kouri (June 15, 1961 – August 11, 2012) was a Lebanese Canadian investor,[1] real estate businessman, and co-founder of Zip2. He was also the vice president for business development at Altavista and was Chief operating officer (COO) of BMAC Finance.[1]

Greg Kouri
Born
Gregory Anthony Kouri

(1961-06-15)June 15, 1961
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
DiedAugust 11, 2012(2012-08-11) (aged 51)
New York City, New York
Known forCo-founding Zip2 and investing
Spouse(s)Jean Marie Echemendia-Kouri (?-2012)
Children2

Biography

Early life and education

Gregory Anthony Kouri was born on June 15, 1961 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to his mother Marlene Yared Kouri and his father Donald Kouri.[1][2] He graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Business degree.[2]

Career

Kouri started his career in Toronto in real estate, before moving to California in 1994.[1][2] In 1995, he co-founded the Global Link Information Network (later renamed Zip2), with brothers Elon and Kimbal Musk in Palo Alto, California.[2][3][4] Kouri poured US$6,000 into the new company.[5]

In February 1999, Kouri sold Zip2 to Compaq Computer for US$305 million.[2][5]

Kouri would later invest in X.com (later PayPal), Tesla, SpaceX, Bazaarvoice, an american software company, and real estate in Canada and South Florida.[1][2][6] He also donated to the Vizcayans in Spain, the Miami Children’s Hospital, Miami City Ballet, and several art museums.[1]

Hospitalization and death

On the night of August 10, 2012, Kouri went to the emergency room of Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan due to swallowing a fish bone.[1] On August 11, 2012, he died of a heart attack in the hospital.[1] Kouri's funeral was held on August 20 in the George Antiochian Church and he was buried at Mount Royal Cemetery.[2]

Personal life

Greg Kouri met his future wife, Jean Marie Echemendia-Kouri, at a party.[1][2] They married in Montreal and had two daughters, Vanessa Juliette Kouri and Ava Camille Frankel.[1][2] Before his death, Kouri lived in Miami Beach, having moved there in 1999.[1][2]

References
  1. Brecher, Elinor J. (2012-08-13). "Gregory Anthony Kouri, early PayPal investor, dies at 51". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  2. "Gregory KOURI Obituary (2012) - The Gazette". Legacy.com. 2012-08-15. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  3. Strauss, Neil (15 November 2017). "Elon Musk: The Architect of Tomorrow". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 15 November 2017. One thing he claims is he gave us a whole bunch of money to start, my brother and I, to start up our first company [Zip2, which provided online city guides to newspapers]. This is not true," Musk says. "He was irrelevant. He paid nothing for college. My brother and I paid for college through scholarships, loans and working two jobs simultaneously. The funding we raised for our first company came from a small group of random angel investors in Silicon Valley.
  4. Huddlestone Jr., Tom (June 19, 2018). "Elon Musk slept on his office couch and 'showered at the YMCA' while starting his first company". CNBC. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  5. Vance, Ashley (2015). Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780062301239.
  6. Hull, Dana; Delevett, Peter; Owens, Jeremy C. (2012-08-13). "Greg Kouri, early investor in PayPal, dies in New York". The Mercury News. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
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