Uber co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick is about to go from a billionaire on paper to a billionaire in real life.
Kalanick plans on selling 29 percent of his 10 percent stake in the company, as part of its recent deal with Softbank, netting the ex-exec about $1.4 billion, according to Bloomberg. He initially planned on selling half of his overall shares of the ride-sharing giant, according to the report.
A shareholder revolt forced Kalanick to resign last June, following an avalanche of negative press. A clip of Kalanick lecturing an Uber driver on “responsibility” went viral, followed by accusations of workplace sexual harassment, and a claim that the company looked at the medical records of an Uber rider who was raped in India. The hits continued after Kalanick left, with the news that the company covered up a hack of 57 million customers in 2016.
Without the scandals, Kalanick selling 29 percent would’ve been worth more than $1.4 billion. The company was once valued at $70 billion, but has been sliced to $48 billion, after Softbank and other investors bought 17.5 percent of Uber last month. Bloomberg reports this is the first time Kalanick sold shares in the company, which he launched in 2009.