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

1.1. SERGEY BRIN

"Sergey was a good boy," his father joked, "when he was asleep."^[]

1.1.1. Russian Roots

Sergey Mikhailovich Brin is the son of a University of Maryland applied probability and statistics professor (his dad) and a NASA scientist (his mom). He was born in Moscow, Russia, on August 21, 1973. Sergey's parents fled to the United States when he was 6 years old, and by the time he was 21 he was on his way to becoming a multicultural marvel.

In Moscow, the family, including the parents and Sergey's grandmother, lived in a crowded 350-square-foot apartment. Sergey's toddler playground was a grim courtyard, where the boy spent two hours a day playing, regardless of how cold the weather.^[] Additionally, the family met with anti-Semitism in the streets and in the workplace. The outlook was so discouraging that the family knew they must leave.

When Sergey was 17, they returned to Russia for a visit, despite their nervousness at the reception they might receive. After Sergey saw the crumbling infrastructure and bleak atmosphere of his native Moscow, he felt grateful that his parents had immigrated."^[]

"I think, if anything, I feel like I have gotten a gift by being in the States rather than growing up in Russia ... it just makes me appreciate my life that much more."^[]

1.1.2. American Passage

The family, including parents, grandmother, and young Sergey, landed in America on October 25, 1979. With the help of the Jewish community that sponsored them, Michael and Eugenia Brin ...