Wow, what a great way to start off the week: finding out you’re about to be swimming in tons of cash.

Microsoft announced on Monday that it would be buying software development platform GitHub for $7,5 billion (R95 billion) in stock, reports Forbes.

That means three of its co-founders are going to enjoy a very rich, stress-free life from here on out.

Per the report:

Based on Forbes estimates, GitHub co-founder and CEO Chris Wanstrath [the ginger fella pictured below] will receive as much as $1,5 billion [R18,9 billion] in Microsoft stock. He is GitHub’s single largest shareholder, a source familiar with the company’s finances told Forbes.

Wanstrath’s cofounders Tom Preston-Werner [below first] and PJ Hyett [below second] will walk away with an estimated $1,25 billion [R15,7 billion] and close to $1 billion [R12,6 billion], respectively.

A few trillion less than Wanstrath, I must add, but I don’t think Preston-Werner and Hyett will mind too much.

GitHub was founded in 2008 with the goal of facilitating collaboration between software developers. 10 years later, it’s now one of the largest “repositories of code” in the world, with more than 28 million developers already using the platform to collaborate.

According to Jim Goetz, a partner at Sequoia Capital which invested millions into GitHub, said:

This isn’t only a milestone for GitHub’s founders and partners. This is also a landmark moment for every developer with an idea and a keyboard.

Agreed. If big ol’ Microsoft had to pay me big bucks, I’d let everyone know by shouting from every rooftop in town.

Now that the buyout’s underway, Wanstrath will be succeeded by Nat Friedman, a Microsoft vice president. Wanstrath will stay on as a technical fellow at Microsoft.

To be honest, if I were Wanstrath, I’d ditch working altogether and start living my R18,8 trillion lifestyle without a fuss.

Ah well, to each his own.

[source:forbes]