Bom Kim
{{Short description|American businessman (born 1978)}}
{{Family name hatnote|Kim|lang=Korean}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Bom Kim
| native_name = {{nobold|김범석}}
| native_name_lang = ko
| image = 20231102金範錫.jpg
| image_size =
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1978|10|07}}{{cite web |script-title=ko:김범석 |url=http://www.businesspost.co.kr/BP?command=power_view&idx_no=588 |website=www.businesspost.co.kr |accessdate=14 December 2019}}
| birth_place = Seoul, South Korea
| nationality = American
| education =
| title = Founder & CEO of Coupang
| children = 2
| parents =
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| alma mater = Harvard University (BA)
| known for =
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| module = {{Infobox Korean name/auto|child=yes
| hangul = %김범석
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}}
}}
Kim Beomseok ({{Korean|hangul=김범석}}; born October 7, 1978), known professionally in the West as Bom Kim, is an American businessman of South Korean origin, who is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Coupang, the largest e-commerce company in South Korea.{{Cite web|last=Palmer|first=Annie|date=2020-06-16|title=Coupang, a SoftBank-backed start-up, is crushing Amazon to become South Korea's biggest online retailer|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/16/coupang-crushed-amazon-to-become-south-koreas-biggest-online-retailer.html|access-date=2020-07-05|website=CNBC|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Chung|first=Gracs|date=2018-11-20|title=Coupang, Korea's Answer to Amazon, Raises $2 Billion, Mints New Billionaire|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/gracechung/2018/11/20/coupang-koreas-answer-to-amazon-raises-its-biggest-funding-round-makes-its-founder-a-billionaire/|access-date=2021-06-08|website=Forbes|language=en}} In 2018, when SoftBank Vision Fund invested US$2 billion in Coupang, valuing the company at $9 billion, Kim became the second-youngest billionaire in South Korea at the age of 40. As of November 2024, Kim has an estimated net worth of $4.3 billion.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/bom-kim/ |title=Forbes profile: Bom Kim |publisher=Forbes |access-date=November 24, 2024}}
Early life
Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea on October 7, 1978. At his age of 7, he and his family moved to the United States.{{Cite news |date=2021-03-12 |title=Coupang: Harvard dropout rockets into mega-billionaire's club |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56369154 |access-date=2023-06-22}} He went to Deerfield Academy, a boarding school in Massachusetts, where he was on the varsity wrestling and track teams.{{Cite web|url=https://deerfield.edu/students/news/2017/03/south-korea-6-an-exciting-visit-with-with-bom-kim-96-ceo-of-coupang/10245310/|title=South Korea #6: An Exciting Visit with Bom Kim '96, CEO of Coupang|website=Deerfield Academy}} He graduated from Harvard College with a bachelor's degree,{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2016/04/13/coupang-south-korea-amazon-bom-kim/|title=Coupang: The $5 Billion Startup Filling Amazon's Void In South Korea|first=Ryan|last=Mac|website=Forbes}} and attended Harvard Business School, dropping out in his second semester.
Kim interned at The New Republic, started a student magazine, Current, and worked briefly at Boston Consulting Group prior to founding the magazine 02138, named for Harvard's ZIP Code. He raised $4 million to fund 02138 and started Coupang after it folded.{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/coupang-ceo-bom-kim-pivot-interview-2018-12|title=The CEO of 'the Amazon of South Korea' explains how canceling an IPO at the last minute and pivoting the company twice led it to become the country's top online retailer|first=Dennis|last=Green|website=Business Insider}}
Coupang
File:Coupang 1.jpg delivery truck in Seoul, 2017.]]
Kim founded Coupang in 2010 and has since gone on to raise more than $3.8 billion in venture capital from investors including Sequoia Capital, Softbank, and BlackRock.{{Cite news | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-22/harvard-dropout-s-startup-loses-billions-in-fight-with-chaebol | title=Harvard Dropout's Startup Loses Billions in South Korea Battle | newspaper=Bloomberg.com | date=22 May 2018 }}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/20/business/dealbook/coupang-softbank-korea.html|title=Coupang, South Korean E-Commerce Start-up, Raises $2 Billion From SoftBank|first=Michael J. de la|last=Merced|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 20, 2018}}
It began as a Groupon-like website and now operates as an online retailer with a logistics service called Rocket Delivery. It was reported in 2018 that Coupang would gross 2.7 trillion won in annual sales and lost 1.7 trillion won between 2015 and 2017 and maintains over 3.5 million daily active users as of 2019.{{Cite news |last1=Song |first1=Jung-a |date=January 2019 |title=Etailers battle to win 'Amazon of South Korea' crown |newspaper=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/815486c2-fde4-11e8-aebf-99e208d3e521 |url-access=subscription |access-date=2023-06-17}}
The company employs over 40,000 people with offices in Seoul, Singapore,{{Cite web|url=https://it.chosun.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=2021041202336|script-title=ko:쿠팡 해외 첫 진출국은 '싱가포르'|date=April 12, 2021|website=IT Chosun}} Shanghai, Beijing, Los Angeles, Seattle, Silicon Valley and many more.{{Cite web|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20171119000250|title=Coupang highlights creativity, openness in its new office|date=November 19, 2017|website=The Korea Herald}}
Personal life
References
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Category:South Korean businesspeople
Category:South Korean billionaires