Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Erik Wilhelm

Wachtmeister (Wm; German for 'master-sentinel' or 'watch-master') is a military rank of non-commissioned officers (NCO) in Austria and Switzerland. The was initially responsible for the guard duty of the army. Later, it became the equivalent NCO-grade of ...

(born 1955)Simon Crittle
“Clubs for People Who Point and Clique,”
''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'', October 17, 2004. is a Swedish Internet entrepreneur. He is the CEO and founder of the

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

websites

ASmallWorld ASMALLWORLD (ASW) is a media company and a social network based in Zürich, Switzerland. The company markets itself as "the world's leading travel & lifestyle community" and offers its services to travellers around the world. Centred around the ...

and Best of All Worlds. In 2012, he was ranked #31 on '' GQ'' magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential men in Britain.Asa Bennett
“Revealed: The 25 most influential businessmen in Britain,”
London Loves Business, January 8, 2013.

Early life and education

Wachtmeister was born in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

,Erik Wachtmeister profile
dld-conference.com. Accessed September 11, 2014. the son of Swedish diplomat and longtime

ambassador to the United States The following table lists ambassadors to the United States, sorted by the representative country or organization. See also *Ambassadors of the United States Notes {{reflist, 30em External linksCurrent and former Ambassadors to the United Sta ...

Count

Wilhelm Wachtmeister Count Wilhelm Hans Fredrik Wachtmeister (29 April 1923 – 3 February 2012) was a Swedish career diplomat who served as the Swedish Ambassador to the United States for 15 years from 1974 to 1989, eventually becoming the Dean of the Diplomatic Cor ...

.Marshall Heyman
“Social Network Aims to Capture Movers and Shakers,”
''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', July 19, 2012.Nicola Ruiz
“Five Social Networking Sites Of The Wealthy,”
''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'', May 2, 2008.Todd Longwell
“Innovative: 11 people shaping the industry’s future,”
''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', November 13, 2006. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

in 1977, and a Master of Business Administration from

INSEAD INSEAD, a contraction of "Institut Européen d'Administration des Affaires" () is a non-profit business school that maintains campuses in Europe ( Fontainebleau, France), Asia (Singapore), the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, UAE), and North America (San ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1983.“Kiwi Collection Welcomes Erik Wachtmeister to Advisory Board,”
Hotel Newswire, January 18, 2008.Joshi Herrmann

''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'', August 28, 2012. He traveled often during his childhood, and has lived in numerous cities around the world, including Washington, DC,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, Paris,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

.Mark Brooks
“A Small World, Founder Erik Wachtmeister,”
Social Networking Watch, August 2, 2008.Lance Richardson
“Online’s little black book,”
''

Australian Financial Review ''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New Sou ...

'', September 14, 2012.

Career

Finance

Wachtmeister spent 16 years as an investment banker, working in London, New York and Los Angeles for

Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, a ...

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by sign ...

and

Ladenburg Thalmann Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services is a diversified financial services company with two primary business lines: independent brokerage and advisory and investment banking and capital markets. The company is engaged in investment banking, equit ...

. He started his own business in 1993, raising private money for publicly listed companies. In 2000, he became the founding CEO of UK-based investment firm Viking Internet, which he later took public on the

London Stock Exchange London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...

A Small World

In March 2004, Wachtmeister and his wife Louise Wachtmeister founded the social networking website A Small WorldOlivia Solon
“Social network Best of all Worlds targets the one percent,”
''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...

'', August 28, 2012. as an exclusive social networking site for a worldwide community of people already connected by three degrees of separation.“Facebook threat,”
''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'', May 28, 2012.Thomas Crampton
“Join? Well, if you have to ask…”
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', August 29, 2005. It launched at almost the same time as MySpace and

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

, two years before Facebook was made available to non-college students.Edmund Conway
“The social network that could have been Facebook,”
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', November 8, 2010. It was dubbed "MySpace for millionaires" by ''

''. To maintain its desired exclusivity, A Small World, while free, was invitation-only, open only to those invited by an existing member. Whereas Facebook soon opened its membership to everyone, A Small World remained exclusive. Wachtmeister has said the idea for an exclusive worldwide social networking site occurred to him in 1998, during a wild boar hunt in the German forest.Ruth La Ferla
“A Facebook for the Few,”
''The New York Times'', September 6, 2007. Over the course of his travels, he identified an existing niche community of people with similar lifestyles and tastes. He wanted to provide them with a platform to network and share information.Maria Aspan

''The New York Times'', May 22, 2006. On May 22, 2006, the

Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior ...

announced its investment in A Small World, joining a team of investors that included former

AOL Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

COO Robert W. Pittman, film director

Renny Harlin Renny Harlin (born 15 March 1959) is a Finnish film director, producer, and screenwriter who has made his career in Hollywood and China. His best-known films include '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master'', ''The Adventures of Ford Fai ...

, and entrepreneur Alexander Von Furstenberg. At the time, A Small World had approximately 130,000 members.

Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (; born March 19, 1952) is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender. He and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent films includ ...

said his company planned to expand the site's membership and bring in additional advertisers. It was the Weinstein Company's first investment in an Internet property. After launching online advertising in 2006, the website had 100 partners. Advertisers included

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

Diane von Furstenberg Diane may refer to: People *Diane (given name) Film * ''Diane'' (1929 film), a German silent film * ''Diane'' (1956 film), a historical drama film starring Lana Turner * ''Diane'' (2017 film), a mystery film directed by Michael Mongillo * ''D ...

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

Cartier Cartier may refer to: People * Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player Places * Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australia' ...

, and Moet & Chandon. By April 2009, membership was in excess of 500,000. Due to differing visions about the company's future direction and exclusivity, Wachtmeister resigned as chairman in 2009; he left the board in 2010.Kristen Schweizer
“Facebook Challenged by Swedish Count’s Jet-Set Website,”
''

Bloomberg Businessweek ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

'', August 23, 2012. Weinstein sold his stake in the company in 2009.

Best of All Worlds

Wachtmeister and his wife launched Best of All Worlds on August 27, 2012, as an invitation-only, free social media website and iPhone and

iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...

app. Wachtmeister serves as CEO. The site is aimed at influential people across a variety of fields, to help users discover people, places and things in a private environment.Padmaparna Ghosh
“’We are not a community just for billionaires’,”
''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'', September 15, 2012.Lisa Chau
“Filling the Facebook Gap,”
'' U.S. News & World Report'', February 6, 2014. It offers social suggestions and the ability to connect with like-minded individuals. It allows users to change their account mode to reflect what they are involved in at a given time, with five modes available: professional, social, family, party and private. Wachtmeister started circulating invitations for the site in May 2012. The site was financed by a San Francisco-based venture capital firm and private investors from Europe and the Middle East, including a member of the Saudi royal family. Prior to its launch, 25,000 people from 120 countries had registered through its pre-released iPhone app. As of February 2014, the site claims to have over 30,000 registered users.

Honors

* ''

s 11 People Shaping the Industry's Future, 2006 * #31, '' GQ'' magazine's 100 Most Influential Men in Britain, 2012“31. Count Erik Wachtmeister,”
''GQ'', January 2013.

Personal life

Wachtmeister is married to Countess Louise Wachtmeister. They were married in 2004.

References

External links

Best of All Worlds website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wachtmeister, Erik Living people 1955 births Walsh School of Foreign Service alumni Swedish nobility Swedish chief executives INSEAD alumni Erik