Kriti Mehrotra
It was on November 23, 2013, when everything turned upside down for the Hayes family as 51-year-old Forrest Timothy Hayes was found dead on his docked boat in the Santa Cruz Harbor. His drug overdose was actually a shock to the entire community, considering his reputation as a hard-working tech executive as well as a devoted family man with a loving wife of 17 years and 5 children. The fact that he had passed away after an alleged tryst with a younger woman sought through the Seeking Arrangement website didn’t help public opinion either, and neither did his significant wealth.
How Did Forrest Hayes Earn His Money?
Although not many details regarding Forrest Hayes’ early years or upbringing are publicly available as of writing, we do know he was a proud Midwesterner — a native of Dearborn, Michigan. It was there that he kickstarted his career in the automotive industry, gradually rising through the ranks until he had evolved into a Manager at Ford Motor Company before deciding to shift gears in more ways than one. He relocated to California for good, where he began dabbling in the rising technological world in Silicon Valley to pave a unique, successful path for himself while also providing for his growing family.
According to records, Forrest seemingly started this journey at Sun Microsystems. This computer company, primarily known for developing computing hardware, software, and IT services, actually ended up being an incredible stepping stone for him. That’s because it not only gave him significant first-hand experience that taught him the ins and outs of the trade, but it also helped him expand his network as well as figure out his next steps. He then joined Apple, where he served as Senior Director of Worldwide Operations, a high-profile position responsible for overseeing global business activities spanning several departments.
Forrest’s thriving stints in these organizations are what subsequently led him to land a spot at Google X, a special division of the multinational corporation that focuses on its “moonshot” programs. It is essentially the extreme arm of their Research & Development Department, as it dives into the most imaginative or wildest ideas anyone could have, such as Google Glasses and self-driving cars. However, it’s unclear precisely what role the professional Executive had here because its operations are so secretive that not even his colleagues have ever divulged anything. All anyone has been able to gather is, “he was the guy who was actually gonna make some of these” ideas a reality, as per CBS’ ’48 Hours: Kiss of Death and the Google Exec.’
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Forrest Hayes’ Earnings and Net Worth
Since Forrest had an undeniably successful career right until he sadly passed away at the age of 51 in November 2013, it goes without saying that he had managed to accumulate significant wealth. It’s imperative to note that his income over the years has never been made public, but a conservative estimate of the same can be calculated from the positions he held and the companies he worked for. From what we can tell, he initially made roughly $50,000 per year in the automotive industry before it increased to around $70,000 per year when he started serving as a Manager.
Then, we believe Forrest’s salary at Sun Microsystems was in the range of $100,000 to $150,000, which skyrocketed to an astounding $300,000 to $400,000 as he joined Apple in a senior role. As for his earnings while he worked as an Executive at Google X, he likely bagged $1 million per year, but it could have also been close to $2 million, depending on his benefits as well as bonuses. However, if he also had Google stocks, which many high-ranking employees are given as a form of benefit, this amount could again be doubled to roughly $4 million per year.
Coming to Forrest’s public assets, he owned a beautiful $3 million home (value estimation from 2013) in an affluent neighborhood in Santa Cruz, and he had a sprawling 46-foot-long yacht named Escape. The latter was even decked out in a variety of expensive gear, including high-definition entertainment systems, leather ceiling, an $8,000 Captain’s chair, as well as a sophisticated security system worth $200,000. Therefore, taking all these aspects into account, along with his other possible assets, investments, returns, and lifestyle expenses as a married father of 5, his net worth was possibly close to $10 million in 2013 at the time of his death.
