Matthew Prince’s net worth is approximately $6.6 billion as of October 2025, making him the richest person in Utah and ranking him #583 among the world’s billionaires. The co-founder and CEO of internet infrastructure giant Cloudflare has built his fortune primarily through his significant stake in the company he helped launch in 2009. Under his leadership, Cloudflare has grown into a global powerhouse serving millions of websites worldwide, with its 2019 IPO creating one of the most successful public offerings in recent tech history.
Net Worth at a Glance
From Ski Bum to Billionaire: The Matthew Prince Story
Early Life and Education
Matthew Browning Prince was born on November 13, 1974, in Salt Lake City, Utah, and was raised in the mountain town of Park City. His entrepreneurial spirit emerged early, influenced by parents who ran various businesses including gift stores and stock brokerage firms. Prince displayed exceptional intellectual diversity from a young age, developing interests in both technology and liberal arts.
His educational path reflects this multidisciplinary approach. Prince graduated from Trinity College in 1996 with a degree in English literature and a minor in computer science. While at Trinity, he served as editor-in-chief of The Trinity Tripod and co-created an online magazine called The Trincoll Journal. He then earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School in 2000, followed by an MBA from Harvard Business School in 2009 where he graduated as a George F. Baker Scholar.
Career Before Cloudflare
Before launching Cloudflare, Prince’s career blended law, entrepreneurship, and academia in a way that uniquely prepared him for his future success. He worked at law firm Latham & Watkins and later at online insurance company GroupWorks. In 2003, he began teaching cyberlaw at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.
The passage of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 inspired Prince to found Unspam Technologies, a company focused on reducing unwanted email. This venture led to the creation of Project Honey Pot, an open-source community project designed to identify and track spammers and malicious bots online. These experiences provided the crucial foundation for what would become Cloudflare.
Building an Internet Giant: The Cloudflare Journey
Founding and Early Growth
The inspiration for Cloudflare came from an unexpected source. In 2008, the Department of Homeland Security contacted Unspam Technologies asking, “Do you have any idea how valuable the data you have is?” This interaction served as the impetus for Prince to co-found Cloudflare in 2009 with fellow Harvard Business School graduate Michelle Zatlyn and Project Honey Pot co-founder Lee Holloway.
The company quickly gained traction, winning Harvard Business School’s Dubilier Prize and receiving $50,000 in seed funding. Cloudflare officially launched at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in 2010, positioning itself as a service to make websites “faster and safer”. The company’s mission to “help build a better internet” resonated with developers and businesses alike.
IPO and Financial Success
Cloudflare’s September 2019 initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “NET” marked a major milestone. The IPO proved highly successful, with the company’s valuation surging in subsequent years as demand for cybersecurity and content delivery infrastructure increased globally.
As CEO, Prince maintains a significant ownership stake in Cloudflare—approximately 8% of the company—which represents the primary driver of his multi-billion dollar fortune. According to SEC filings, Prince has sold over 8.2 million shares of NET stock since 2021 while still retaining substantial holdings.
The Evolution of a Fortune
Prince’s net worth has experienced remarkable growth, particularly in recent years. From a reported $2.3 billion in March 2023, his wealth has nearly tripled to approximately $6.6 billion by October 2025. This dramatic increase reflects both Cloudflare’s strong stock performance and Prince’s ongoing strategic sales of company shares.
Several factors have contributed to this wealth expansion:
- Cloudflare’s Market Position: The company has established itself as a critical backbone of the modern internet, processing a significant portion of global web traffic
- AI Infrastructure Demand: Growing need for cybersecurity and content delivery in the artificial intelligence era has boosted investor confidence
- Strategic Leadership: Prince’s vision and management have been central to Cloudflare’s ability to capitalize on emerging internet trends
Recent Ventures and Public Engagement
AI and the Future of the Web
Recently, Prince has emerged as a significant voice in the debate over artificial intelligence and web content. After initially being skeptical of media companies’ complaints about AI firms scraping content without compensation, Prince conducted an analysis of Cloudflare’s extensive web traffic data and discovered a startling trend: with the arrival of AI overviews in search results, news sites have become 10 times harder to get traffic than a decade ago.
In response, Cloudflare launched a groundbreaking initiative in July 2024 to block AI crawler bots by default for its customers, effectively putting 20% of the web behind a wall that AI bots cannot penetrate without permission. Prince envisions a “pay-per-crawl” model where AI companies compensate content creators for training data, potentially creating a new business model for the internet.
Local Investments and Community Involvement
Despite his global success, Prince remains committed to his Utah roots. In March 2023, he and his wife Tatiana acquired The Park Record, the local newspaper in his hometown of Park City. They plan to convert the 143-year-old publication into a nonprofit or public benefit corporation while adding Spanish-language coverage.
Prince has also recently acquired holdings at the base of Park City Mountain’s Town Lift and has publicly expressed interest in purchasing the ski area from Vail Resorts. Additionally, he and his wife were recognized for donating $20 million to Utah’s 2034 Winter Games effort, where Prince heads the Technology and Innovation Committee.
Personal Life and Legacy
Prince maintains strong ties to Park City, Utah, where he lives with his wife Tatiana (née Lingos-Webb) and their daughter. His connection to the community spans generations—the Prince family has resided in Park City for multiple generations and assisted in constructing various local buildings including the Stein Eriksen Lodge Deer Valley.
His great-great grandfather was firearms inventor John Browning, creator of the M1911 pistol and Browning Auto-5 shotgun. Prince himself worked as a ski instructor during his early twenties, reflecting his lifelong passion for the mountain lifestyle.
Beyond business, Prince serves as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, engaging with global policy issues related to technology and internet governance.
Philanthropy and Future Outlook
While much of Prince’s philanthropic activity remains private, his recent actions demonstrate a commitment to supporting both local communities and the broader internet ecosystem. The $20 million donation to Utah’s Olympic effort, the acquisition of The Park Record to preserve local journalism, and his advocacy for content creators in the AI era all point to a growing philanthropic focus.
As Cloudflare continues to expand its role in internet infrastructure and AI governance, Prince’s influence—and likely his net worth—appears poised for continued growth. His unique combination of legal expertise, business acumen, and technical knowledge positions him as a significant voice in shaping the future of the internet.
Disclaimer
The information presented in this article regarding Matthew Prince’s net worth and financial standing is based on publicly available data from reputable sources including Forbes, SEC filings, and financial publications. Net worth figures for individuals, particularly those whose wealth is tied to publicly traded companies, are subject to fluctuation based on market conditions and other factors. While we strive for accuracy, all figures should be considered estimates rather than absolute values. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice or an endorsement of any individual or company.
FAQs
1. What is the primary source of Matthew Prince’s $6.6 billion net worth?
The overwhelming majority of Matthew Prince’s wealth comes from his significant ownership stake in Cloudflare, the internet infrastructure and security company he co-founded and leads as CEO. He owns approximately 8% of the company’s stock. The value of this stake fluctuates with Cloudflare’s stock price (ticker: NET) on the New York Stock Exchange, which has seen substantial growth due to increasing demand for cybersecurity and content delivery services.
2. How has Matthew Prince’s net worth changed recently?
Prince’s net worth has experienced dramatic growth, nearly tripling from approximately $2.3 billion in March 2023 to around $6.6 billion by October 2025. This surge is largely attributed to Cloudflare’s strong stock performance, driven by the company’s expanding role in AI infrastructure and growing market share in internet security. Despite selling over 8.2 million shares since 2021, his remaining holdings have appreciated significantly in value.
3. What did Matthew Prince do before founding Cloudflare?
Before Cloudflare, Prince had a diverse career that uniquely blended law, technology, and entrepreneurship. He practiced law at Latham & Watkins, taught cyberlaw at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, and founded Unspam Technologies, a company focused on combating spam. This work led to the creation of Project Honey Pot, an open-source project that tracked online spammers and ultimately provided the foundational technology and insights for Cloudflare.
4. Why is Matthew Prince involved in the debate about AI and web content?
Prince became a central figure in the AI debate after analyzing Cloudflare’s web traffic data and discovering that news sites have become 10 times harder to get traffic than a decade ago, partly due to AI overviews in search results. In response, Cloudflare launched a default block on AI crawler bots for its customers in July 2024, effectively putting 20% of the web behind a permission wall. He advocates for a “pay-per-crawl” model where AI companies compensate content creators for using their data.
5. How is Matthew Prince spending his wealth and giving back?
Prince maintains strong ties to his home state of Utah, where he and his wife have made significant local investments. They acquired Park City’s local newspaper, The Park Record, with plans to convert it to a nonprofit, and donated $20 million to Utah’s 2034 Winter Games effort. He also heads the Technology and Innovation Committee for the Olympic bid. These actions reflect a growing philanthropic focus that supports both local community institutions and broader technological initiatives.