Share and Follow
The social media business is bigger and busier than ever these days. Elon Musk finally took over Twitter (and some celebrities are not happy about it) and Mark Zuckerberg is now richer than ever after establishing a Metaverse for his Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp businesses.
Now, several years ago, they weren’t the only people making headlines in the social media space. There was also Tom Anderson who co-founded MySpace, earning him the nickname Tom from MySpace. Back in 2005, however, he sold his business and since then, Anderson has been pursuing other passions and presumably, staying offline.
How Much Did Tom Sell MySpace For?
In the early 2000s, MySpace was booming. Since it started, the social networking site has grown to more than 16 million monthly users. It’s also attracted several popular music artists, including R.E.M., Nine Inch Nails, and the Black Eyed Peas. And at one point, the site had become more popular than Yahoo.
Soon after, it got the attention of media magnate Rupert Murdoch. It was the catastrophic tsunami in Indonesia that essentially brought MySpace to his attention.
“Murdoch was amazed that some of the best footage of the massive waves was available online through amateur video — and not on television or in newspapers,” author Julia Angwin wrote in her book, Stealing MySpace. That’s when Murdoch thought he must have the site.
And so began an acquisition war between Murdoch’s News Corp. and Viacom. Murdoch won after paying $580 million to acquire Intermix Media Inc., the parent company of MySpace. Moreover, the deal was closed just as News Corp. announced the formation of Fox Interactive Media, which will manage MySpace alongside fox.com, foxnews.com, and more.
“We see a great opportunity to combine the popularity of Intermix’s sites, particularly MySpace, with our existing online assets to provide a richer experience for today’s internet users,” Murdoch said following the acquisition.
In 2011, however, Murdoch’s company off-loaded MySpace, selling it for $35 million, just a fraction of what it once paid to acquire it.
As for Anderson, he stayed with the business until 2009. After that, he moved on from the dot-com business and largely stayed out of the spotlight.
How Much Is Tom Anderson From MySpace Worth Today?
At present, estimates indicate that Anderson is worth anywhere between $50 to $60 million. According to reports, he invested his earnings in some online businesses and real estate.
Among his current assets is a home in West Hollywood that he purchased from Chainsmokers’ DJ Drew Taggart in 2019 for $3.8 million.
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It is also likely that Anderson purchased at least one nice home for himself in Hawaii since the Myspace co-founder is supposedly based there.
What Is Tom From MySpace Doing Now?
Since selling and moving on from MySpace, Anderson has been pursuing his real passion: photography. As it turns out, he discovered how much he loved the craft when he attended Burning Man in 2011 where he met with photographer Trey Ratcliff.
“Since I was going to hang out with him at Burning Man, I decided to get a camera,” Anderson recalled. “I just saw the photos that were coming out of my camera and I was kind of blown away. I was mystified why I was liking what I was getting so much.”
At the same time, he appreciated how fulfilling photography was from the beginning.
“With most creative pursuits, I would struggle for years and still not like the result,” Anderson explained.
“With photography I was liking what I was producing literally from day one. Then gradually it just became a way of life and now an intense passion. For about 8 months now, it’s basically all I’ve done every day. I’ve divested myself of all other responsibility so I can just travel and shoot.”
That said, Anderson has since focused more on landscape photography.
“The main goal in my photography is to shoot photos that make people just stop and go ‘wow’ — that sort of jaw dropping moment. I think that’s why I’m attracted to landscapes so much,” he said. “With most of us living in cities, we don’t have the time to go see these remote or hard to reach places.”
He also added, “If you’re shooting something that’s just awesome on its own, it makes it easier to get a good photo.”
Since then, Anderson has taken photos for National Geographic. Over the years, he traveled to Thailand, Myanmar, China, Taiwan, Bhutan, and the Philippines to capture its scenic landscapes with his camera.
Meanwhile, it’s also possible that Anderson is already pursuing something else aside from landscape photography. After all, he’s always had varied interests. “If you knew me before Myspace, you’d probably thought I’d have been a scholar teaching philosophy in a university my whole life,” Anderson said.
“If you met me before college, you’d probably have thought I’d be a musician for my entire life. He also added, “I like change.”
