Sergey Brin, Google’s co-founder, on Thursday posted his first blog, a somehow emotional expose that reveals he is at risks for Parkinson’s disease, and at the same time evangelizes for the DNA-testing company, 23andme, co-founded by his wife, Anne Wojcicki.
In a personal tone, he describes how, encouraged by his wife, he took a DNA test--a procedure for which 23andme charges around $1,000--a test, which he “viewed mostly as entertainment,” to find out he carried the mutated gene responsible for the disease.
After the personal revelation came the marketing bit.
“As a customer of 23andMe, I have always been excited about the product,” said the billionaire entrepreneur who in May of last year had created controversy in the Valley by taking a minority stake in his wife’s company for $3.9 million, according to regulatory filings.
Mr. Brin, whose fortune was estimated at $15.9 billion by Forbes, said he wanted to contribute to disease research on Parkinson’s, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that often impairs motor skills and speech.
The 13th richest man in America, according to Forbes, already contributes to the Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center, as well as the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
Mr. Brin is familiar with the illness that also affects his mother, Eugenia Brin, an ex-NASA researcher.
Mr. Brin himself has not yet developed the malady, but he noted there were between 20 percent to 80 percent chances that he would in the future.