Background and career
Robert Ralph Parsons (born November 27, 1950) is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. In 1997, he founded the GoDaddy group of companies, including Internet domain name registrar GoDaddy.com, reseller registrar Wild West Domains, and Blue Razor Domains. In July 2011, Parsons sold approximately 70 percent of GoDaddy to a private equity consortium and resigned his position as CEO. In June 2014, he stepped down from his position as Executive Chairman and served on the board until 2018. Parsons is the founder and CEO of YAM Worldwide, Inc., which is home to his entrepreneurial ventures in the fields of power sports, golf, real estate, and marketing. In 2012, Parsons and his wife Renee founded The Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation, which provides funding, primarily in the greater Phoenix area, to nonprofit organizations. In December 2013, they joined The Giving Pledge, an initiative started by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett that requires signators to commit at least half of their fortunes to charity. As of September 2023, Parsons is ranked No. 314 on the Forbes 400 list of The Richest People in America. His memoir Fire in the Hole was released May 7, 2024 by Simon & Schuster.
Parsons was born in Baltimore, Maryland. His mother was a homemaker, while his father worked as a furniture salesman for Montgomery Ward. After nearly flunking out of high school, Parsons enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He was assigned to the 26th Marine Regiment, which was attached to the 1st Marine Division. In 1969, he served as a rifleman in the Delta Company of the 1st Battalion, 26th Marines, during a tour of duty in Vietnam, in the Quảng Nam Province. He was wounded in action and medically evacuated, then spent two months at a naval hospital recovering from his wounds. As a result of his service and injury, he earned the Combat Action Ribbon, the Vietnam Gallantry Cross, and the Purple Heart. In 1975, Parsons earned an accounting degree from the University of Baltimore, graduating magna cum laude. He then began his career in the IT and software sales industry. The University of Baltimore conferred an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree on May 21, 2008.
In 1984, he founded Parsons Technology in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and began selling MoneyCounts, a home accounting program. Eventually, Parsons Technology grew to be a 1,000-employee, privately held company. On September 27, 1994, Parsons completed the sale of Parsons Technology to Intuit, Inc. for $64 million.
Parsons founded the Internet domain registrar and Web hosting company GoDaddy in 1997. In July 2011, Parsons sold approximately 70 percent of GoDaddy to a private equity consortium led by KKR & Co. L.P. and Silver Lake, and resigned his position as CEO. In June 2014, Parsons stepped down from his position as Executive Chairman. Parsons announced he would be fully stepping away from GoDaddy in October 2018, relinquishing his board seat.
He owns a property in the Kukio neighborhood on the Kona coast of Hawaii.
In 2012, Parsons founded the Scottsdale, Arizona-based YAM Worldwide Inc. YAM Capital is YAM Worldwide's private lending and investment arm, specializing in commercial real estate lending and acquisition of closely held middle-market companies. In 2013, Parsons acquired Martz Agency, a 25-employee public relations firm in Scottsdale, Arizona. In 2015, Bob Parsons rebranded the firm to BIG YAM, The Parsons Agency, a full-service advertising agency in Scottsdale, Arizona. In 2016, Parsons launched Sneaky Big Studios in Scottsdale at the YAM Worldwide Center where much of YAM Worldwide is based. Sneaky Big Studio provides production, post-production, and recording studio services including editorial, visual effects, color finishing, and audio. In 2017, Parsons established The YAMWOOD Foundry, a business that creates custom, unique furniture, signs, and lighting fixtures for residential and commercial projects.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
