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WIKI-—Dominican-Born Manuel Henriquez Born 1963 Spent His Early Life in Florida In a self-written profile for The New York Times, Henriquez wrote that he was born in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic. His extended family was well-known in the local community for a rum business they’d run since 1852. However, Henriquez’s immediate family was not involved in the business, nor did they enjoy the rum business wealth.

Henriquez has at least two older sisters. His parents divorced shortly after he was born. To escape the stigma a divorced woman would face in the community, Henriquez’s grandfather sent a two-month-old Manuel, his two sisters, and their mother to Florida in the U.S. His mother raised the three of them, working multiple jobs and also being an ever-present parent. Manuel and his sisters initially spent time in both Fort Lauderdale and their native Dominican Republic, alternating between the two every year or so.

Eventually, Manuel and his sisters put their foot down with their mother and asked her to make the U.S. their permanent residence. They only visited their home country during the holidays.

According to the latest court documents, Henriquez is a U.S. citizen and currently based in Atherton, California. He studied in the U.S. and Dominican Republic but graduated from Fort Lauderdale High School. Henriquez discovered he was dyslexic when he was in college. In grade school, his trouble with reading had been attributed to bilingualism and moving often between two countries.

Henriquez Showed Business Acumen in High School——With his mother remaining rooted in Florida, Henriquez had the opportunity to participate in the Junior Achievement after-school program in his high school. The program allowed him to create mock companies with his friends and run them just as in the real world. After high school, he studied business administration at Boston University and later acquired his BS in international business administration and finance from Northeastern University in 1987. At Northeastern, a professor identified his dyslexia.

It didn’t slow down his business prowess, though. Using the emergency credit card his mother gave him, Henriquez bought a personal desktop computer and a dial-up modem for himself. He then bought more and set them up in his apartment, starting Boston Professional Computing and charging other students to use them for their homework. He started a business called Wordworks, hiring other students to type resumes and papers. He also worked as a bartender when he was young.

When his mother and her beloved dog got cancer, Henriquez began researching into medical insurance. He also looked into insurance for pets and pet health. The lack of information available prompted him to start HealthyPets, an online resource that provided information about veterinary practices.

Soon after graduating from Northeastern, Henriquez joined BancBoston Ventures, a Bank of Boston venture capital group. He simultaneously served as the vice president of the Bank of Boston. An associate at the Bank of Boston told Henriquez his calling was in venture capital. After learning the field, he plunged into venture capitals, initially working for Robertson Stephens & Co in San Francisco and Comdisco Ventures.

In 2003, he founded Hercules Capital (named after the famed Disney animated film and series) in Palo Alto, of which he was chairman and CEO. His firm grew rapidly, completing over $3.9 billion in investments to over 250 companies. His company became successful faster than he imagined. Henriquez’s net worth hasn’t been calculated but it can’t be small, considering he earned a salary of over $8.0 million in 2017.

After he was charged in the college admission scandal, Hercules’ shares plummeted by 10%. Henriquez then resigned as chairman and CEO of Hercules. He will reportedly continue as a member of the board and an adviser. Henriquez and his wife Elizabeth are parents to two daughters, including Isabelle who is currently a junior at Georgetown University. The Henriquez family is now one of the many wealthy families involved in the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal that saw actors Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman also charged.