Current:Home > MarketsSusan Wojcicki, former YouTube CEO, dies at 56 from lung cancer -Elevate Capital Network
Susan Wojcicki, former YouTube CEO, dies at 56 from lung cancer
Burley Garcia View
Date:2025-04-07 06:55:54
Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has died. The technology and business executive was 56 years old.
In a Facebook post Wojcicki's husband, Dennis Troper, broke the news. Wojcicki lost her battle with lung cancer.
"It is with profound sadness that I share the news of Susan Wojcicki passing," he wrote. "My beloved wife of 26 years and mother to our five children left us today after 2 years of living with non small cell lung cancer."
Wojcicki leaves behind her husband and four children. One son, Marco Troper, died earlier this year.
"Susan was not just my best friend and partner in life, but a brilliant mind, a loving mother, and a dear friend to many. Her impact on our family and the world was immeasurable," Troper wrote. "We are heartbroken, but grateful for the time we had with her. Please keep our family in your thoughts as we navigate this difficult time."
Current YouTube CEO:Ex-YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki dies a year after stepping down. Who is the current CEO?
Susan Wojcicki's career in tech
According to Susan Wojcicki's LinkedIn page, she graduated from Harvard University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Literature. In 1993, she earned her Master of Science degree in Economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Finally, in 1998, she earned her Master of Business Administration in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Wojcicki joined Google in 1999 to become one of its first few employees, years before it acquired YouTube.
Google bought YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion.
Before becoming CEO of YouTube in 2014, Wojcicki was senior vice president for ad products at Google.
After nine years at the helm, Wojcicki stepped down from her role at YouTube in 2023 to focus on "family, health, and personal projects." She was replaced by her deputy, Neal Mohan, a senior advertising and product executive who joined Google in 2008. At that time, Wojcicki planned to take on an advisory role at Alphabet, Google's parent company.
"Twenty-five years ago I made the decision to join a couple of Stanford graduate students who were building a new search engine. Their names were Larry and Sergey .... It would be one of the best decisions of my life," Wojcicki wrote in a blog post, on the day she left YouTube, referring to Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
Susan Wojcicki's son Marco Troper died just months ago
In February, Susan Wojcicki and Dennis Troper lost their son Marco, 19, after an accidental overdose, according to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.
Marco Troper was found dead around 4 p.m. in his dorm room at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), on Feb. 13, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office said. Esther Wojcicki, Susan Wojcicki's mother, is an American journalist and educator, further confirmed her grandson's death in a Facebook post, saying, "Tragedy hit my family yesterday. My beloved grandson Marco Troper, age 19 passed away yesterday. Our family is devastated beyond comprehension."
Troper's autopsy found high concentrations of cocaine, amphetamine, alprazolam (Xanax), a medication prescribed to manage panic and anxiety disorders, and hydroxyzine, an antihistamine used to treat allergies and anxiety, in his system, according to the Alameda County Sheriff's Office's Coroner Bureau's investigator's report.
The levels of alprazolam and cocaine in Troper's blood were high enough to cause death, according to the coroner's report. Low levels of delta-9, a more abundant form of THC, were found in the college student's blood, the report shows.
Troper suffered from "chronic substance abuse," and he had a fractured right wrist from a scooter incident that occurred two weeks before his death, the report says.
In Esther Wojcicki's Facebook post, she described her grandson as the "most kind, loving, smart, fun and beautiful human being."
Contributing: Reuters, Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY.
Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- RFK Jr. faces steep hurdles and high costs to get on ballot in all 50 states
- Maren Morris’ Ex Ryan Hurd Shares Shirtless Photo in Return to Social Media After Divorce Filing
- South Korea scrambles jets as China and Russia fly warplanes into its air defense zone
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- AP Week in Pictures: Global | Dec. 8 - Dec. 14, 2023
- Offshore wind farm projects face major hurdles amid tough economic climate
- A Mississippi House candidate is charged after a Satanic Temple display is destroyed at Iowa Capitol
- Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time
- Horoscopes Today, December 15, 2023
Ranking
- 'No Good Deed': Who's the killer in the Netflix comedy? And will there be a Season 2?
- Greta Gerwig named 2024 Cannes Film Festival jury president, first American female director in job
- California men charged with running drugs to Australia, New Zealand disguised as car parts, noodles
- Ohio’s 2023 abortion fight cost campaigns $70 million
- The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
- Are you playing 'Whamageddon'? It's the Christmas game you've probably already lost
- Where is Santa? Here's when NORAD and Google's Santa Claus trackers will go live
- Doping law leads to two more indictments, this time against coaches who used to be elite sprinters
Recommendation
Chuck Scarborough signs off: Hoda Kotb, Al Roker tribute legendary New York anchor
Mexico’s president inaugurates first part of $20 billion tourist train project on Yucatan peninsula
Customers wait up to 8 hours in In-N-Out drive-thru as chain's first Idaho location opens
Where is Santa? Here's when NORAD and Google's Santa Claus trackers will go live
Where will Elmo go? HBO moves away from 'Sesame Street'
Woman killed by crossbow in western NY, and her boyfriend is charged with murder
'American Fiction' review: Provocative satire unleashes a deliciously wry Jeffrey Wright
Lauren Graham Reveals If She Dated Any of Her Gilmore Girls Costars IRL