Atherton ( ) is an
incorporated town
An incorporated town is a town that is a municipal corporation.
Canada
Incorporated towns are a form of local government in Canada, which is a responsibility of provincial rather than federal government.
United States
An incorporated town o ...
in
San Mateo County, California
San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City, California, Redwood City is th ...
, United States. Its population was 6,823 as of July 2023 estimates. The town's
zoning regulations permit only one single-family home per acre in new subdivisions, though smaller lots exist from prior zoning laws.
Atherton is known for its high concentration of wealth; in 1990 and 2019, Atherton was ranked as having the highest per capita income among U.S. places that have a population between 2,500 and 9,999,
[Archive o]
"1990 CPH-L-126. Median Family Income for Places with a Population of 2,500 to 9,999, Ranked Within the United States: 1989"
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
1990 CPH-L-126F.html Original page
/ref> and is regularly ranked as having the highest cost of living in the United States. In 2023, Atherton had the highest median home prices in the United States, at $7,950,000.
History
The entire area was originally part of the Rancho de las Pulgas.
During the 1860s, Atherton was known as Fair Oaks. In 1923, it was decided to rename the town in honor of Faxon Dean Atherton, a former 19th century landowner on the south peninsula.
Lawsuit against the electrification of Caltrain
The town has been involved in lawsuits to block or delay the introduction of California High-Speed Rail
California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) is a publicly funded high-speed rail system being developed in California by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Phase 1, about long, is planned to run from San Francisco, California, San Francisco to ...
. Atherton was an early and vocal opponent of the electrification of the U.S. commuter railroad Caltrain
Caltrain (reporting mark JPBX) is a commuter rail line in California, serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley (Silicon Valley). The southern terminus is in San Jose, California, San Jose at the Tamien station with weekday r ...
, which serves cities in the San Francisco Peninsula and Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...
. Residents opposed electrification and the proposed high-speed rail
High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilising trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated railway track, tracks. While there is ...
route because the overhead electrical lines would require tree removal and the town could potentially be divided by the closing of the two grade crossings at Fair Oaks Lane and Watkins Avenue.
In February 2015, shortly after the project received environmental clearance from the state, Atherton sued Caltrain, alleging the agency's environmental impact review was inadequate and that its collaboration with the CHSRA
The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) is a California state agency established in 1996 pursuant to the California High-Speed Rail Act to develop and implement high-speed intercity rail service, namely the California High-Speed Rail pro ...
should be further vetted. In July 2015, the suit proceeded after Caltrain's request to the Surface Transportation Board
The Surface Transportation Board (STB) of the United States is an independent federal agency that serves as an adjudicatory board. The board was created in 1996 following the abolition of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) and absorbed regula ...
to exempt it from California Environmental Quality Act
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA ) is a California statute passed in 1970 and signed in to law by then-governor Ronald Reagan, shortly after the United States federal government passed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), ...
(CEQA) guidelines was denied. Atherton reiterated its opposition to electrification on the basis that overhead wires would require removing a significant number of heritage trees, and city representatives asserted that "newer, cleaner, more efficient diesel trains" should supplant plans for "century-old catenary electrical line technology". Atherton mayor Rick De Golia was quoted as saying "Caltrain is locked into an old technology and 20th century thinking". After Caltrain issued infrastructure and rolling stock contracts in July 2016, Atherton representatives did not file a temporary restraining order to halt those contracts, preferring to let the suit proceed to a hearing. In September 2016, Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Barry Goode sided with Caltrain, ruling that the electrification project did not hinge on the high-speed rail project's success, and was thus independent from the latter.
Atherton sued CHSRA again in December 2016, stating that using bond money intended for high-speed rail for CalMod was a material change in usage and therefore was unconstitutional because such a change would require voter approval first. In response, the California Legislature
The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...
allowed the funding to be redirected by passing Assembly Bill No. 1889, which had been championed by Assemblymember Kevin Mullin in 2015. Mullin noted "this entire Caltrain corridor is the epicenter of the innovation economy and it's a job creation and economic engine. This electrification project, I would argue, is monumental with regard to dealing with ncreased traffic and environmental impactseffectively and efficiently."
The Caltrain station closed in 2020.
Land use and housing
Atherton is the wealthiest city in the United States. According to the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', "the town's ascendance stems largely from its single-family zoning, 1-acre-minimum lot sizes, flat land, streamlined permits and changing buyer demographics — which have translated into soaring house sizes and skyrocketing prices." There is no commercial zoning in the town, thus there are no restaurants, shops or grocery stores. Although city codes specify regulations for sidewalk maintenance, many streets do not have sidewalks.
In 2022, the town blocked a proposal to build 131 multifamily housing units in the town in response to strong criticism. Many of the town's residents, including Golden State Warriors player Steph Curry, strongly opposed proposals to permit more housing construction. Advocates for the construction of additional homes have criticized Atherton as being a NIMBY
NIMBY (, or nimby), an acronym for the phrase "Not In My Back Yard", is a characterization of opposition by residents to proposed real estate development and infrastructure developments in their local area, as well as support for strict land us ...
town. In the same year, California Governor Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom ( ; born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2019 as the 40th governor of California. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served from 2011 to 201 ...
singled out Atherton in a speech for its restrictive housing policies. With the passage of SB 9 in 2021, zoning regulations that limit how many units can be built on a property were nullified, but enforcement actions did not begin until 2023.
In February 2023, responding to state legislative deadlines, the Atherton City Council approved a housing plan with 348 mixed-income housing units. Under California law, the units must be built over the next eight years, and the city must reserve 148 units for occupancy by "very low income" or "low income" individuals, 56 units for "moderate income" individuals, and 144 units for "above moderate income" individuals.
In its 2002 plan, Atherton stated a land-use goal to "preserve the Town's character as a scenic, rural, thickly wooded residential area with abundant open space", but its current general plan as of 2024 does not use this language.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , comprising 0.63%, is water.
Atherton lies southeast of Redwood City, and northwest of San Jose. The town is considered to be part of the San Francisco metropolitan area.
Demographics
About 73% of the city's inhabitants are ethnically non-Hispanic white; this makes it among the least ethnically diverse cities in Silicon Valley.
2010
At the 2010 census Atherton had a population of 6,914. The population density was . The racial makeup of Atherton was 5,565 (80.5%) White, 75 (1.1%) African American, 7 (0.1%) Native American, 911 (13.2%) Asian, 45 (0.7%) Pacific Islander, 95 (1.4%) from other races, and 216 (3.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 268 people (3.9%).
The census reported that 6,529 people (94.4% of the population) lived in households, 385 (5.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.
There were 2,330 households, 787 (33.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,755 (75.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 109 (4.7%) had a female householder with no husband present, 48 (2.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 34 (1.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 15 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 321 households (13.8%) were one person and 178 (7.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.80. There were 1,912 families (82.1% of households); the average family size was 3.03.
The age distribution was 1,543 people (22.3%) under the age of 18, 579 people (8.4%) aged 18 to 24, 966 people (14.0%) aged 25 to 44, 2,264 people (32.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,562 people (22.6%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 48.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.6 males. For every 100 women age 18 and over, there were 95.3 men.
The median household income was in excess of $250,000, the highest of any place in the United States. The per capita income for the town was $128,816. About 2.9% of families and 5.1% of the population were below the poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 5.6% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.
There were 2,530 housing units at an average density of 501.1 per square mile, of the occupied units 2,116 (90.8%) were owner-occupied and 214 (9.2%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.9%. 5,921 people (85.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 608 people (8.8%) lived in rental housing units.
''Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' ranked Atherton as second on its list of America's Most Expensive ZIP Codes in 2010, listing median house price as over $2,000,000.
2020
At the 2020 census, Atherton had a population of 7,193 and 2,252 households, and the homeowner vacancy rate was 0%. The population density was .
There was an average 2.94 people per household, 89.2% of homes were owner occupied and 10.8% were renter occupied. The racial makeup of Atherton was 5,403 (75%) White, 1,655 (23%) Asian, 124 (1.7%) African American, 18 (0.3%) Native American, 107 (1.5%) Pacific Islander, 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 540 (7.5%) people.
The median age was 49. For every 100 females there were 100.1 men.
The age distribution was 1,472 people (20.5%) under the age of 18, 862 people (5.6%) aged 18 to 24, 932 people (12.9%) aged 25 to 44, 2,123 (29.5%) aged 45–64 and 1,813 people (25.2%) over the age of 65.
Median income for a household was over $250,000. Males had a median income $102,192 versus $53,882 for females. About 1.1% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.5% of those under the age of 18 and 1.1% of those 65 years or over.
Property Shark ranked Atherton first for the fourth year in a row as the most expensive ZIP code in the United States in 2022, with the median home price at $7,900,000.
Arts and culture
There are a number of active community organizations: the Atherton Heritage Association, the Atherton Arts Committee, the Atherton Tree Committee, the Friends of the Atherton Community Library, the Holbrook-Palmer Park Foundation, the Atherton Dames, the Police Task Force, and the Atherton Civic Interest League. There are also home owners' associations in various neighborhoods. The Menlo Circus Club is a private club with tennis, swimming, stables and a riding ring located within the town.
There are also several tracts of contemporary Eichler Several people are named Eichler:
* August W. Eichler (1839–1887), German botanist
* Caroline Eichler (1808/9–1843), German inventor, first woman to be awarded a patent (for her leg prosthesis)
* Eunice Eichler (1932–2017), New Zealand Salvat ...
homes, most notably in the Lindenwood neighborhood in the northeast part of the town.
The Holbrook-Palmer Estate
Holbrook-Palmer Estate, also known as Elmwood is a historic estate and public park located at 150 Watkins Avenue in Atherton, California (the town was previously named Fair Oaks). The water tower (c.1883) and the carriage house (c.1897) were lis ...
, was once an active rural estate and gentleman's farm. The Holbrook-Palmer Estate was donated to the city of Atherton in 1958 and now serves as a and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
for the architecture.
The city is served by the Atherton Public Library of the San Mateo County Libraries, a member of the Peninsula Library System
The Peninsula Library System (PLS) is a consortium of public and community college libraries in San Mateo County, California, San Mateo County, California, United States, which serves the part of the San Francisco Bay Area known as "San Francisco ...
.
Government
In the California State Legislature
The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...
, Atherton is in , and is split between and . In the United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
, Atherton is in .
Political party registration
According to the California Secretary of State
The secretary of state of California is the chief clerk of the U.S. state of California, overseeing a department of 500 people. The Secretary of state (U.S. state government), secretary of state is elected for four year terms, like the state's o ...
, as of March 11, 2022, Atherton has 5,063 registered voters. Of those, 2,192 (43.2%) are registered Democrats, 1,247 (24.6%) are registered Republicans and 1,317 (26%) have declined to state a political party.
Education
Among Atherton's public schools, Encinal, Las Lomitas, and Laurel are elementary schools, while Selby Lane is both an elementary and a middle school. Menlo-Atherton is a high school. Atherton does not have its own public school system. Selby Lane is part of the Redwood City School District, Menlo-Atherton is part of the Sequoia Union High School District, Las Lomitas Elementary School is part of the Las Lomitas Elementary School District, and both Encinal and Laurel are part of the Menlo Park City School District.
Among the town's private schools, Sacred Heart
The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...
is an elementary, middle and high school, and Menlo School is a middle and high school.
Menlo College is a private four-year college.
Notable people
* Paul Allen
Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American businessman, computer programmer, and investor. He co-founded Microsoft, Microsoft Corporation with his childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which was followed by the ...
, Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
co-founder.
* Marc Andreessen
Marc Lowell Andreessen ( ; born July 9, 1971) is an American businessman and former software engineer. He is the co-author of Mosaic, the first widely used web browser with a graphical user interface; co-founder of Netscape; and co-founder and ...
, co-founder of Netscape and general partner at Andreessen Horowitz.
* Mohamed Atalla
Mohamed M. Atalla (; August 4, 1924 – December 30, 2009) was an Egyptian-American engineer, physicist, cryptographer, inventor and entrepreneur. He was a semiconductor pioneer who made important contributions to modern electronics. He is best ...
, Egyptian-American engineer, inventor of MOSFET
upright=1.3, Two power MOSFETs in amperes">A in the ''on'' state, dissipating up to about 100 watt">W and controlling a load of over 2000 W. A matchstick is pictured for scale.
In electronics, the metal–oxide–semiconductor field- ...
transistor, founder of Atalla Corporation
Utimaco Atalla, founded as Atalla Technovation and formerly known as Atalla Corporation or HP Atalla, is a security vendor, active in the market segments of data security and cryptography. Atalla provides government-grade end-to-end products in ...
* Gertrude Atherton, American author
* Faxon Atherton, namesake of Atherton, California
* CiCi Bellis, tennis player
* Lindsey Buckingham
Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American musician, record producer, and the lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with ...
, of Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...
* Nick Clegg
Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...
, Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms, Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Meta owns and operates several prominent social media platforms and communication services, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads ...
executive and former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom is an honorific title given to a minister of the Crown and a member of the British Cabinet, normally to signify a very senior minister, the deputy leader of the governing party, or a key political ...
, and his wife, Miriam González Durántez, a lawyer
* Ty Cobb
Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American professional baseball center fielder. A native of rural Narrows, Georgia, Cobb played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent ...
, Hall of Fame Major League Baseball player
* Stephen Curry
Wardell Stephen Curry II ( ; born March 14, 1988) is an American professional basketball player and point guard for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Chef Curry", he is widely regarded as the ...
and Ayesha Curry, NBA star and actress
* Timothy C. Draper, venture capitalist and founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson
Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) is an American venture capital firm. In January 2019, DFJ Venture, the early-stage team, spun out and formed Threshold Ventures. DFJ Growth continues to be managed by co-founder John Fisher and co-founders Mark Ba ...
* Clay Dreslough, game designer, raised in Atherton
* Douglas Engelbart
Douglas Carl Engelbart (January 30, 1925 – July 2, 2013) was an American engineer, inventor, and a pioneer in many aspects of computer science. He is best known for his work on founding the field of human–computer interaction, particularly ...
, computer engineer and inventor of the computer mouse
A computer mouse (plural mice; also mouses) is a hand-held pointing device that detects Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional motion relative to a surface. This motion is typically translated into the motion of the Cursor (user interface)#Po ...
* Anna Eshoo
Anna A. Eshoo ( ; née Georges; born December 13, 1942) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 1993 to 2025. She is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democ ...
, former U.S. representative
* Drew Fuller, actor, known for role on ''Charmed
''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadc ...
'' and ''Army Wives
''Army Wives'' is an American drama television series that followed the lives of four army wives, one army husband, and their families. The series premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007, and ran for seven seasons, ending on June 9, 2013. The sh ...
''
* Bill Gurley, venture capitalist; general partner at Benchmark.
* Elizabeth Holmes
Elizabeth Anne Holmes (born February 3, 1984) is an American biotechnology entrepreneur who was convicted of fraud in connection with her blood-testing company, Theranos. The company's valuation soared after it claimed to have revolutionize ...
, former biotechnology entrepreneur convicted of fraud.
* Ben Horowitz, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz.
* Ron Johnson
Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American businessman and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Wisconsin, a seat he has held since 2011. A Rep ...
, former senior executive at Apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
* Guy Kawasaki
Guy Takeo Kawasaki (born August 30, 1954) is an American marketing specialist, author, and Silicon Valley venture capitalist. He was one of the Apple employees originally responsible for marketing their Macintosh computer line in 1984. He popul ...
, venture capitalist
* Bobbie Kelsey, Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
women's basketball assistant coach
* Andy Kessler, author of books on business, technology, and the health field
* Jan Koum, co-founder of WhatsApp
* Robby Krieger, musician, former guitarist of The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...
* Charlie Kubal, music producer, created 2010's Mashup Album of the Year, '' the notorious xx'', grew up in Atherton
* Douglas Leone (born 1957), billionaire venture capitalist
* Andy W. Mattes, CEO of Diebold.
* Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays Jr. (May 6, 1931 – June 18, 2024), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of ...
, Hall of Fame Major League Baseball player
* Bill McDermott, CEO of ServiceNow
ServiceNow, Inc. is an American software company based in Santa Clara, California, that supplies a cloud computing platform for the creation and management of automated business workflows. It is used predominantly for the automation of informati ...
* Harden M. McConnell (1927–2014), physical chemist
* Rajeev Motwani, professor, computer science, Stanford University
* Farzad Nazem, former chief technology officer of Yahoo!
Yahoo (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web portal that provides the search engine Yahoo Search and related services including My Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, y!entertainment, yahoo!life, and its a ...
and one of its longest-serving executives, now an angel investor
An angel investor (also known as a business angel, informal investor, angel funder, private investor, or seed investor) is an individual who provides capital to a business or businesses, including startups, usually in exchange for convertible de ...
* Chamath Palihapitiya, CEO of Social Capital
Social capital is a concept used in sociology and economics to define networks of relationships which are productive towards advancing the goals of individuals and groups.
It involves the effective functioning of social groups through interper ...
, and board member of the Golden State Warriors.
* J. B. Pritzker, Governor of Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
and co-founder of the Pritzker Group
* Tom Proulx, co-founder of Intuit
Intuit Inc. is an American multinational business software company that specializes in financial software. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and the CEO is Sasan Goodarzi. Intuit's products include the tax preparati ...
.
* Vivek Ranadive, chairman, CEO and founder of TIBCO Software
* Jerry Rice, Hall of Fame
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player
* George R. Roberts, co-founder of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global private-equity and investment company. , the firm had completed private-equity investments in portfolio companies with approximately $710 billion of total ...
.
* Ted Robinson, sports broadcaster and former San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
play-by-play announcer
* Maureen Kennedy Salaman, author and proponent of alternative medicine
* James R. Scapa, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Altair Engineering
Altair Engineering Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational information technology company headquartered in Troy, Michigan. It provides software and cloud solutions for simulation, Internet of Things, IoT, high performance com ...
* Eric Schmidt
Eric Emerson Schmidt (born April 27, 1955) is an American businessman and former computer engineer who was the chief executive officer of Google from 2001 to 2011 and the company's chairman, executive chairman from 2011 to 2015. He also was the ...
, former executive chairman and CEO of Google
Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
* Charles R. Schwab, founder and CEO of the Charles Schwab Corporation
The Charles Schwab Corporation is an American multinational Financial institution, financial services company. It offers banking, commercial banking, investing and related services including consulting, and wealth management advisory services ...
* Komal Shah, art collector, philanthropist, and businessperson
* Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...
, child movie star and diplomat
* Y.A. Tittle, 49ers & Giants QB, NFL HOFer, resident until his death in 2017
* Bob Weir, of the Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...
and Ratdog, raised in Atherton
* Steve Westly, former State Controller of California, major Democratic Party fundraiser, and venture capitalist.
* Meg Whitman, diplomat, former president and CEO of Hewlett-Packard
The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California ...
, former CEO of eBay
eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...
* Dennis Woodside, president of Impossible Foods, former COO of Dropbox
Dropbox is a file hosting service operated by the American company Dropbox, Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, California, that offers cloud storage, file synchronization, personal cloud, and Client (computing), client software. Dropbox w ...
* Quadeca, Singer-Songwriter/Youtuber grew up in Atherton
See also
References
External links
*
{{authority control
1923 establishments in California
Cities in San Mateo County, California
Cities in the San Francisco Bay Area
Incorporated cities and towns in California
Populated places established in 1923