Tragedy strikes again in a famous Silicon Valley family. Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has passed away recently, her husband Dennis Troper and Google CEO Sundar Pichai have posted on social media. She is 56 years old.
The troper wrote on Facebook Friday night, “It is with deep sadness that I share the news Susan Wojcicki passes through. My beloved wife of 26 years and mother of our five children left us today after 2 years of living with small cell lung cancer.
“Susan was not only my best friend and partner in life, but also a brilliant mind, a loving mother, and a dear friend to many. The impact she had on our family and the world is immeasurable. We are heartbroken, but grateful for the time we had with her. Please keep our family with you as we go through this difficult time. Keep in mind.
Pichai also sent a memo to Google employees late Friday.
“You may have heard the news that Susan Wojcicki has passed away after two years of lung cancer. Even as I write this I can’t believe it’s true. Susan was one of the most energetic and vibrant people I’ve ever met,” the note read.
According to the Yale School of Medicine, non-small cell lung cancer is one of the two primary types of lung cancer and is the most common type. Because its symptoms are often mistaken for common illnesses, 80 percent of those diagnosed with the condition have already progressed to advanced stages, according to a fact sheet associated with the university.
Wojcicki’s passing comes on the heels of another heartbreaking loss for Wojcicki and her husband in February of this year, when their 19-year-old son, Marco Troper, died of an accidental overdose in his dorm room at the University of California. Berkeley, where he was a freshman.
Wojcicki rose to fame as YouTube’s CEO, a role he held for nine years before stepping down in early 2023, saying in a blog post at the time, “I’ve decided to start a new chapter focused on my family, health and personal matters. Projects I’m interested in.”
Wojcicki was one of Google’s top 20 employees when it bought YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion — an astronomical sum at the time. He famously got involved with the company after renting a Menlo Park, Calif., garage while they were working on a Ph.D. Home to friends Larry Page and Sergey Brin. students at Stanford at the time. (Google reorganized in 2015, at which time Alphabet became its parent company.)
According to reports over the years, it was only after observing YouTube’s early traction that Wojcicki — then a marketing manager at Google — proposed to Page and Brin that Google buy the video streaming platform.
Under his leadership, YouTube generated billions of dollars in cash for Google. In 2023, YouTube reported $8.1 billion in revenue from ad sales — nearly 10% of Alphabet’s total revenue.
Wojcicki’s family has deep ties to Silicon Valley and the Bay Area. One of his sisters is 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki. Another sister, Janet, is a professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco. Meanwhile, their mother, Esther Wojcicki, is a renowned educator who has written extensively on how to raise successful children.
Here’s the full memo Google begged employees for:
Googlers,
You may have heard the news that Susan Wojcicki passed away after two years of battling lung cancer. Even as I write this I can’t help but feel that this is true. Susan is one of the most energetic and vibrant people I have ever met. Her loss is devastating for all of us who knew and loved her, for the thousands of Googlers she led over the years, and for the millions of people around the world who saw her, benefited from and felt her advocacy and leadership. The impact of the incredible things he created on Google, YouTube and beyond.
Susan’s journey, from being hired by Larry and Sergey to building consumer products and our advertising business … to becoming the CEO of one of the most important platforms in the world, YouTube, has been nothing short of inspiring. But she didn’t stop there. As one of the earliest Googlers — and the first to take maternity leave — Susan used her position to create a better workplace for everyone. In the years that followed, her advocacy of parental leave set a new standard for businesses everywhere. Susan also had a deep interest in education. He realized early on that YouTube could be a learning platform for the world and championed “EdTubers” – people who were expanding the reach of STEM education, especially to underserved communities.
During the past two years, even as she faced personal hardships, Susan devoted herself to improving the world through her philanthropy, including supporting research into the disease that ultimately claimed her life. I know it meant a lot to her and I’m so glad she took the time to do it.
Susan always put others first, her values and day to day. I will never forget the kindness she showed me 20 years ago as a future “Nugler”. He took me for ice cream and a walk around campus during my Google interview. I was sold – on Google and Susan.
I feel very fortunate to have worked closely with Susan for many years, and I’m sure many of you have — she is absolutely loved by her teams here. Her time on earth was short, but she made every minute count.
We are in close contact with Susan’s family, including her husband and fellow Googler, Dennis. We will soon share how we are going to celebrate his amazing life. In the meantime, let’s honor Susan’s memory by building a Google she can be proud of.
