Eduardo Saverin, co-founder of Facebook, will potentially save millions of dollars after he renounced his United States citizenship before the company"s IPO launches later this week.
Saverin, who served as the chief financial officer of the company when it was known as The Facebook, currently owns roughly four percent of the company. According to a Bloomberg report, this would value Saverin"s stake in the company as high as $2.89 billion. The co-founder renounced his U.S. citizenship in September and currently lives in Singapore, which doesn"t have a capital gains tax (a tax on the profitable sale of capital assets, such as stock).
By renouncing his citizenship, Saverin stands to save at least $67 million, according to Bloomberg"s calculations. Saverin"s spokesperson stated that the co-founder"s decision to renounce his citizenship "had nothing to do with tax and everything to do with his desire to live and work in Singapore."
The Facebook co-founder sued Zuckerberg for a larger ownership sake in the company, as depicted in the 2010 dramatization The Social Network. While Saverin held a large percentage of the original company, Zuckerberg founded a new company in Delaware which purchased the former company, diluting Saverin"s shares to a minuscule amount. At the time, Saverin"s role in the company had also diminished significantly. Saverin and Facebook later settled out of court, increasing his stake in the company to its current levels.