Kevin Systrom

Systrom was reported to own roughly 40% of Instagram when Facebook announced the purchase in 2012. That made the acquisition personally transformative despite the company having outside investors. The often repeated $1 billion was an announcement valuation: Facebook's later accounts distinguished the purchase price from employee shares vesting over three years. His case is a reminder that a founder's stake, a buyer's share price and continuing employment conditions all affect a sale's rewards.