What is Ray Ozzie’s net worth?

Ray Ozzie is an American entrepreneur, software entrepreneur, and programmer who has a net worth of $650 million. Ray Ozzie is best known for developing Lotus Notes, serving as Chief Software Architect at Microsoft after Bill Gates, and playing a pivotal role in shaping the modern computing landscape. A visionary technologist with a deep understanding of collaboration and communication software, Ozzie has consistently been at the forefront of innovations that transformed how people work and share information. His work on Lotus Notes in the 1980s helped define groupware and enterprise communication. Decades later, his push for cloud computing and seamless integration across platforms influenced major shifts at Microsoft and beyond.

Ozzie’s career spans several of the most influential software companies in history, and his quiet, thoughtful leadership style has earned him respect as a builder and strategist. Whether pioneering distributed computing in the early PC era or advocating for Microsoft’s transition to the cloud, Ozzie’s contributions have had a lasting impact on enterprise software and internet-based collaboration. Even after his formal roles at tech giants ended, he remained active through advisory roles and new ventures like Talko, continuing to shape the tools that enable communication in the digital age, and Blues Wireless, a company focused on simplifying Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity for real-world applications.

Early Life and Education

Raymond Ozzie was born on November 20, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois. He showed an early interest in computing and programming, eventually attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which housed the influential PLATO computer system. PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations) introduced Ozzie to online collaboration and interactive computing, concepts that would influence his later work.

He graduated in 1979 with a degree in computer science and began his career in software development during a period of rapid innovation in personal and business computing.

Lotus Notes and Iris Associates

In the early 1980s, Ozzie worked at Data General and Software Arts, but his breakthrough came when he founded Iris Associates in 1984. There, he led the development of Lotus Notes, a pioneering software platform for messaging, collaboration, and document sharing within enterprises. It was one of the first major groupware products to integrate email, databases, and workflows across distributed networks.

Lotus Development Corporation, founded by Mitch Kapor, licensed and then acquired Iris Associates. Released in 1989, Lotus Notes became one of the most important enterprise software products of its time. It helped define a new category of business software and cemented Ozzie’s reputation as a leading innovator in collaboration technology.

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Role at Microsoft

After IBM acquired Lotus in 1995, Ozzie remained in the software industry but largely outside the spotlight until 2005, when Bill Gates recruited him to Microsoft as Chief Technical Officer, eventually elevating him to Chief Software Architect in 2006, the same title Gates held before stepping down from day-to-day operations.

At Microsoft, Ozzie was instrumental in shifting the company’s focus from desktop-bound software to cloud-based services. His 2005 internal memo, titled “The Internet Services Disruption,” argued that Microsoft was at risk of falling behind if it failed to embrace cloud computing and software as a service (SaaS). The memo helped spark initiatives like Windows Azure and Office 365, laying the foundation for Microsoft’s future dominance in enterprise cloud services.

Ozzie also spearheaded the development of Live Mesh, an early effort at cloud synchronization and device interoperability. Although Live Mesh was eventually absorbed into other Microsoft services, it showcased Ozzie’s forward-thinking approach to connected computing.

He stepped down as Chief Software Architect in 2010, concluding his formal tenure at Microsoft, though his strategic imprint on the company remained long after his departure.

Post-Microsoft Ventures

After leaving Microsoft, Ozzie launched Talko, a startup focused on rethinking voice communication for mobile teams. The app combined walkie-talkie-style messaging, conference calling, and collaboration tools. In 2015, Microsoft acquired Talko, integrating its technology into Skype and other communication products.

In 2019, Ozzie founded Blues Wireless, an Internet of Things (IoT) startup focused on simplifying the process of embedding wireless connectivity into physical products. The company’s core product is the Notecard, a $49 plug-in module that provides instant cellular connectivity using built-in AT&T service. Developers can embed it into devices without requiring users to configure Wi-Fi or manage subscriptions.

Blues Wireless drew inspiration from Ozzie’s experience with Safecast, a nonprofit that built open-source air quality and radiation monitors in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster. That work highlighted the need for low-cost, easily deployable sensors that could share environmental data across networks.

Blues released its first consumer-facing product, the Airnote, in 2021. A solar-powered, cellular-connected air quality monitor, Airnote gathers environmental data and feeds it into Safecast’s global public database. The project exemplifies Ozzie’s long-standing commitment to enabling better information-sharing through technology, not just among people, but between machines and systems working in service of people.

Backed by investors including Sequoia Capital, AT&T, and Bill Gates, Blues Wireless continues to focus on making IoT connectivity more accessible and scalable, particularly for developers and enterprises looking to monitor real-world systems like energy infrastructure, logistics, and environmental health.

Personal Life & Real Estate

Not much is known about Ray’s personal life other than that his wife is named Dawna. In 1995, Dawn and Ray paid $2.7 million for a historic 11,000-square-foot waterfront mansion in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts. After acquiring the property, which dates to 1932, they performed a full restoration to its original glory. The restoration included re-adding the entire third floor and chimneys, which were removed decades earlier. Today, this property is worth at least $10 million, but perhaps much more.

Legacy and Influence

Ray Ozzie is widely recognized as one of the foundational figures in enterprise software. His work on Lotus Notes shaped decades of groupware and internal communication tools, while his leadership at Microsoft helped steer the company toward cloud computing at a time when such a pivot was critical for its long-term survival.

Though never as publicly visible as figures like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, Ozzie’s influence is deeply embedded in the infrastructure of modern business software. His emphasis on collaboration, synchronization, and distributed systems has informed the design of countless applications and platforms.