Owen Van Natta Net Worth

What was Owen Van Natta's Net Worth and Salary?

Owen Van Natta was an American technology executive and investor who had a net worth of $400 million at the time of his death. Owen Van Natta died unexpectedly in August 2026 at the age of 56. Over a career spanning nearly three decades, Van Natta held important executive positions at several of the companies that defined the early internet and social-media eras, including Amazon, Facebook, MySpace, and Zynga.

Van Natta joined Amazon while the company was still relatively young and eventually became its vice president of worldwide business and corporate development, working during the period when founder Jeff Bezos was rapidly expanding the company beyond its origins as an online bookstore. Van Natta later joined Facebook as chief operating officer during the social network's early expansion under Mark Zuckerberg. He subsequently served as Facebook's chief revenue officer.

After leaving Facebook, Van Natta became CEO of music-sharing company Project Playlist and then CEO of MySpace. He later joined social-gaming giant Zynga as an executive vice president and board member. After leaving day-to-day technology management, Van Natta increasingly concentrated on investing. He founded 415 Investments and later co-founded Prefix Capital, an early-stage venture firm focused on technology companies.

Early Life and Education

Owen Thomas Van Natta was born on November 12, 1969. He attended the University of California, Santa Cruz, graduating in 1992 with a degree in English and American literature.

Rather than pursuing a career related to his degree, Van Natta moved into the technology business during the formative years of the commercial internet.

Owen Van Natta (Johannes Simon /Getty Images)

Amazon and Facebook

Van Natta joined Amazon in 1998 and spent roughly seven years at the company. He eventually became vice president of worldwide business and corporate development, giving him responsibility for partnerships, acquisitions, and other strategic initiatives during Amazon's transformation under Jeff Bezos from an online bookseller into a much broader e-commerce company.

In 2005, Van Natta joined Facebook as chief operating officer. Facebook was still a private startup at the time, several years away from its IPO. Van Natta became part of a small group of executives helping Mark Zuckerberg transform the company from a college social network into a global technology business.

His tenure overlapped with an important period in Facebook's early history following the involvement of early company president Sean Parker and early investor Peter Thiel. Van Natta helped develop Facebook's business operations, revenue strategy, and strategic partnerships as its user base expanded rapidly.

He later served as chief revenue officer before leaving Facebook in 2008. Sheryl Sandberg joined Facebook as chief operating officer that year and would go on to oversee much of the company's subsequent development into an advertising powerhouse.

MySpace and Zynga

After a period as CEO of music service Project Playlist, Van Natta became chief executive of MySpace in 2009. He replaced MySpace co-founder Chris DeWolfe at a difficult moment for the company.

MySpace, which DeWolfe had co-founded with Tom Anderson, had once been the dominant social network in the United States but was rapidly losing users and cultural relevance to Facebook. Van Natta attempted to reposition MySpace around entertainment, music, and media rather than continue competing directly with Facebook. He left the company in 2010.

Later that year, Van Natta joined Zynga, the social-gaming company founded by Mark Pincus. Zynga had become one of Facebook's most successful business partners thanks to games including "FarmVille" and "CityVille." Van Natta became executive vice president of business operations and joined the company's board as Zynga prepared for its IPO.

Zynga Compensation

Van Natta received one of the more lucrative executive compensation packages of the pre-IPO technology era. Zynga's securities filings valued his 2010 compensation at roughly $43 million, the overwhelming majority of which came from equity rather than cash salary.

His original equity package included an option covering 6.75 million Zynga shares. By the time he transitioned out of his operating position in November 2011, more than 2.1 million of those option shares had vested. He remained on Zynga's board until 2013.

Investing Career

Van Natta founded the investment vehicle 415 in 2013 and backed technology startups as an angel and venture investor. In 2019, he helped establish Prefix Capital, where he served as a founding partner and managing partner.

Prefix concentrated on early-stage technology investments, allowing Van Natta to apply his experience from Amazon, Facebook, MySpace, and Zynga to startup investing rather than operating a single technology company.

Real Estate

In 2011, Van Natta paid $9 million for a historic estate on more than an acre in Palo Alto. He subsequently undertook an extensive renovation and expansion of the property. The house was listed for just under $40 million in 2019 and ultimately sold for about $40 million in July 2020, making it one of Palo Alto's most expensive residential transactions.

In 2019, Owen paid $10 million for a house in Santa Monica, California.

Personal Life and Death

Van Natta married Jennifer Van Natta in 1998, and they had two children. The couple later divorced.

Van Natta died in August 2026 at age 56. His family described the death as unexpected. No cause of death was disclosed in the initial public announcement.

Who's Richer?

Owen
Van Natta

Compare!

Chris
Hughes