Michael Saylor’s significant investment in Bitcoin was anticipated to be his downfall, but it has instead led to substantial gains from his cryptocurrency holdings and MicroStrategy stock.
This year alone, the billionaire executive chairman of MicroStrategy has generated $370 million by selling hundreds of thousands of company shares through a predetermined stock-sale plan established with the company last year, as documented in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
However, this amount does not encompass his considerable paper profits. As of the most recent data available, the total value of Saylor’s MicroStrategy shares (excluding those in the stock-sale plan) and his disclosed personal Bitcoin holdings amounted to approximately \(3.49 billion. Since the beginning of this year, this represents a growth of around 60%, translating to over \)1 billion. Furthermore, since the commencement of 2023—when the cryptocurrency sector initiated its resurgence—his shares and Bitcoin investments have yielded paper profits of nearly $3 billion.
The surge in MicroStrategy’s stock value since January correlates with Bitcoin’s meteoric rise to new peaks, partly attributed to the introduction of new exchange-traded funds tracking the token. MicroStrategy’s shares have escalated by 86%, following a remarkable over 300% surge in 2023. On Friday, shares concluded with a 2.8% decline at approximately $1,174. Concurrently, Bitcoin has appreciated by 46% in 2024 and surged by nearly 300% since the onset of 2023.
Saylor, once a skeptic of cryptocurrencies who transformed into a believer, has effectively positioned MicroStrategy as a barometer of Bitcoin’s success. Over the past four years, the company has acquired billions of dollars worth of the token, occasionally leveraging its purchases. During his tenure as CEO in 2020, MicroStrategy initiated its initial Bitcoin acquisitions—investing \(250 million to procure 21,454 tokens at an average price of approximately \)12,000 each.
After multiple transactions over four years, MicroStrategy now possesses more than 214,000 Bitcoin, constituting about 1% of the total tokens in circulation. At the current price of roughly \(64,000 per Bitcoin, MicroStrategy’s holdings are valued at around \)13.7 billion. Given Saylor’s ownership of about 12% of the company’s shares, his stock holdings and personal Bitcoin cache, exceeding 17,000 tokens, significantly contribute to his net worth, which hovers just below $4 billion, as reported by Forbes.
MicroStrategy did not provide an immediate response to Fortune’s request for comments.
Despite his current success, Saylor encountered significant challenges in the past. Following MicroStrategy’s revelation in 2000 that its 1999 revenue was 25% lower than initially reported, Saylor faced a major setback. The accounting scandal resulted in a \(6 billion loss in a single day—the largest individual loss within a 24-hour period up to that point. Subsequently, the SEC accused him of violating federal securities laws, leading to a settlement where he paid \)8 million to the agency without admitting wrongdoing.
Saylor’s ventures into Bitcoin were initially perceived as risky by investors and analysts. David Trainer, an analyst at research firm New Constructs, criticized Saylor in 2022, stating that he was “grossly misallocating his investors’ capital” with his Bitcoin acquisitions.
Despite initial skepticism, Saylor persisted in his conviction. He expressed to CNBC recently that Bitcoin is poised to surpass gold as the primary store of value.
The future of MicroStrategy’s ambition to become the premier Bitcoin proxy remains uncertain, especially following the approval of several spot Bitcoin ETFs by the SEC in January.
Nonetheless, Saylor, buoyed by his newfound wealth, remains unwavering in his optimism. He articulated to CNBC, “Is there any company in the world that you wouldn’t like to invest in that could borrow $1 billion at less than 1% interest to invest in your best idea?”