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Justin Sun, 28, a Chinese entrepreneur best known for launching one of the largest cryptocurrency platforms in the world, is paying more than $4.5 million to have lunch with Warren Buffett.
Sun won the annual auction Buffett holds to raise money for the GLIDE foundation. Sun is permitted to bring seven friends to the lunch meeting. He wrote on Twitter that he planned to invite “#blockchain industry leaders to meet with a titan of investment.”
It should make for an interesting conversation. Buffett has previously criticized cryptocurrency markets as “probably rat poison squared.” He told CNBC in February of 2019 that he viewed Bitcoin as a “delusion” with “no unique value at all.” But Buffett did say that he saw potential in blockchain technology.
Buffett’s assistant told Bloomberg that the billionaire investor was “delighted with the fact that Justin has won the lunch and am looking forward to meeting him and his friends.”
Here’s what you need to know about Justin Sun.
1. Justin Sun Launched TRON in 2017; Sun Teased a ‘Big Reveal’ After He Learned He’d Won the Lunch With Warren Buffett & the Tease Caused the Currency’s Value to Increase
Justin Sun founded TRON in 2017. The cryptocurrency is one of the most valued in the market, according to CoinMarketCap.
On May 31, Sun posted on Twitter that he had secured a “big win for the blockchain community” and that he had a “big reveal” coming. We now know that he was talking about having won the auction to have lunch with Warren Buffett. His announcement caused TRON’s value to increase by more than 20 percent, according to Yahoo Finance.
Sun’s mission with TRON is to establish a “truly decentralized Internet and its infrastructure,” as explained on the company website. Sun further explains on his Linkedin profile, “The TRON Protocol, one of the largest blockchain-based operating systems in the world, offers scalable, high-availability, and high-throughput support that serves as the foundation for all decentralized applications in the TRON ecosystem.”
BitDegree describes TRON as a “next-generation social media outlet.” Users can share content on a platform “which uses blockchain and peer-to-peer technology… Tronix is the basic unit of accounts in Tron’s blockchain.”
2. Sun Purchased Internet Technology Company BitTorrent in 2018
Justin Sun expanded his technological reach by acquiring BitTorrent Inc in June of 2018. He bought the file-sharing service for $120 million.
BitTorrent, according to its website, is a “simple piece of software that makes downloading files fast.” The company is focused on improving the Internet and making it faster for all users, as referenced in its Twitter bio.
BitTorrent’s profile on Bloomberg explains that the company “develops Internet content delivery technologies for customers worldwide. It offers BitTorrent DNA, a content delivery technology; BitTorrent Live, a streaming video platform with various channels that include news, sports, music, tech, and youth culture; µTorrent Web, a web-based torrent client for Windows that helps users quickly download and play torrent files inside their browser; and BitTorrent Now application that enables users to view music, video, and culture in computer, phone, and TV.”
3. Justin Sun Launched an App Similar to Snapchat in China Called Peiwo; The Creation Earned Him a Spot On Forbes’ ’30 Under 30′ List in 2017
Justin Sun’s first major creation was a voice streaming app called Peiwo, or “Callme.” The app connects people using 10-second voice samples.
Sun was featured in Forbes “30 Under 30” list for Asia in 2017. According to Sun’s profile on Forbes, the Peiwo app “has introduced a host of channels for users to make like-minded friends, with online games, talent shows and live streaming.” At the time, the app had reportedly connected “more than 4 billion chats.” Forbes referred to Peiwo as “China’s Snapchat.”
4. Sun Participated in Alibaba Co-founder Jack Ma’s ‘Hupan University,’ Which Focuses on the Professional Development of Entrepreneurs & Other Business Leaders
Justin Sun was a student of Alibaba Group co-founder Jack Ma’s Hupan University. Ma launched the program in 2015 to help guide entrepreneurs and other business leaders. Sun notes on TRON website that he was the first millennial student to attend Hupan University.
Sun told the Coin Telegraph that the educational opportunity “made a huge impact and difference to me and the company. Without Hupan, Tron will not be what it is today. My entrepreneurship was enlightened and developed there.”
Sun recently donated $1.5 million to the program. Hupan University announced in March of 2019 that the new class was made up of CEOs from 41 Chinese companies, including the CEO of Horizon Robotics, Yu Kai.
5. Justin Sun Studied History as an Undergraduate Student & Wrote Novels
Justin Sun’s educational background implied that he had a different idea of what he would do for a career. He studied history at Peking University in Beijing. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 2011, according to his Linkedin profile.
Sun explained during an interview on Phoenix TV that as a student, he enjoyed writing novels. He told the interviewer that if he was not satisfied with a piece of writing, he would burn it.
Sun moved to the United States for his graduate education. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2013.
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