Co-founder, Yahoo Inc. NET WORTH $905 million AGE 29 ADDRESS 3420
Central Expressway; Santa Clara, Calif. BIO Yang became a
billionaire briefly this year at the age of 29 when Yahoo closed
at 174. The Stanford graduate is still many tax brackets away
from where he started in 1993, when he and pal David Filo
compiled Jerry's Guide to the World Wide Web. Since then Yang has
become the face of the search engine with the human touch, and
Yahoo has become the doorway to the Internet. More people (30
million monthly) visit the Yahoo site than any other location on
the Web. The company has distinguished itself from a pack of
faster--some say better--competitors by being somehow cooler. And
Yang's likable image deserves a lot of the credit. 1998 POWER PLAY If Yang has his way, you won't just search and split
anymore. Yahoo Clubs, introduced in August, are designed to
engender loyalty in the search engine's users. Modeled on an idea
that Geocities spawned and everyone else on the Web is embracing,
the topic-specific Web communities hold real advertising
potential. It's a crowded market, but Yahoo has already proved
that it doesn't mind crowds. PLACE YOUR BETS As this company
evolves to take advantage of its remarkable reach, it will
benefit from a great brand name in a burgeoning market. And it is
already profitable. With the stock's price back in reasonable
territory, analysts call Yahoo a strong buy.
