Google Speaks: Secrets of the World's Greatest Billionaire Entrepreneurs, Sergey Brin and Larry Page

1.2. LARRY PAGE

While Sergey Brin's is an immigrant's story, Larry Page, several generations away from the immigrant experience, was in most ways the typical American boy of his generation. Even so, as with Sergey, the seeds were planted early for him to pull the Prince Arthur sword from the stone of technology. Although perhaps not consciously on the part of their parents, they both were groomed from childhood for the journey they would take. Their destiny evolved from their origins.

Like his partner, Sergey Brin, Larry comes from Jewish heritage. Page's maternal grandfather immigrated to Israel, where he lived in a desert town near the Dead Sea, and worked as a tool-and-die maker. Larry's mother was raised in the Jewish faith, but his father was too scientific for much religion. His focus was on the world of technology.

1.2.1. Cradled in a Computer Culture

Page's grandfather was a Detroit factory worker, but his grandson has had a far different life. Lawrence Edward Page grew up in Lansing, Michigan, surrounded by math, science, and computers. His father was a highly regarded professor at Michigan State, where his mother also taught computer programming. His parents divorced when Larry was 8 years old. Nevertheless, the boy grew up with both parents in his life. Larry's fun-loving father took him to Grateful Dead concerts as a child.

Page explained, "my dad was a computer science professor, so we had computers really early. The first computer we owned as a family was in 1978 ...