Born in 1979 to an Israeli mother and African American father , Robert Reffkin ’ s early years were far from conventional , let alone easy . But today , the fintech entrepreneur – who has held a number of sought-after positions in the banking world – is blazing a trail across the US real-estate market with his disruptive fintech , Compass .
Humble beginnings His story begins in Berkley , California . Shortly after Reffkin ’ s birth , his mother was disowned by her family for having a child with an African-American Jazz musician . Sadly , Reffkin ’ s father also abandoned the pair not long afterwards , leaving them to fend for themselves .
According to reports , those early years were frugal and difficult as Reffkin struggled to find his place in the world as a mixed race , Jewish boy . High school was not something he enjoyed – but he had a passion for music , which saw the first of his forays into entrepreneurialism take off .
Achieving his goals One attribute that always marked Reffkin out as a future success story was his commitment to a cause . At 11 – or so the story goes – he realised his mother was struggling financially . He made a plan that saw him save up for a DJ kit so he could be hired out for parties and events .
It reportedly took him three years to save up for the kit , but his determination paid off , and he then continued to help out financially by performing at events throughout high school . He was hired for
“ My dream is to create the most inspirational company in the history of the world , and it starts with you ”
school proms , parties and bah mitzvahs . He was involved with the Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship as a teenager and managed to save more than US $ 100,000 of funds during those difficult early years .
Embracing education Despite his less-than-enthusiastic approach to education thus far , Reffkin nevertheless turned his attention to academia around his college years . In 1997 , he joined Columbia University , where he was so determined to do well that he completed the four-year degree programme in just 2.5 years .
His performance resulted in him landing a job with one of the global leading management consulting firms , McKinsey & Company , as a business analyst . The role became the launchpad for his career in finance .
In 2003 , Reffkin went back to Columbia and completed his MBA . Upon graduation , he began working as an associate at Lazard on Wall Street , later becoming a White House Fellow and acting as an assistant to John Snow , the Secretary of Treasury during the George Bush administration years .
Personal Fortune