Former YouTube CEO dies at 56

Susan Wojcicki, a technology and business executive, has died. She was 56.

In a Facebook post, Wojcicki’s husband, Dennis Troper, shared the news. Wojcicki lost her battle with lung cancer.

“It is with deep sadness that I share the news of the death of Susan Wojcicki,” he wrote. “My beloved wife of 26 years and mother of our five children, passed away today after 2 years of living with non-small cell lung cancer.”

Wojcicki left behind her husband and four children.

“Susan was not only my best friend and partner in life, but also a brilliant mind, a loving mother, and a dear friend to many. Her impact on our family and the world was immeasurable,” wrote Troper. “We are heartbroken but grateful for the time we had with her. Please keep our family in your thoughts as we navigate this difficult time.”

Son of former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki Marco Troper died of an accidental overdose

Susan Wojcicki’s Career in Technology

According to Susan Wojcicki’s LinkedIn page, she graduated from Harvard University in 1990. With Bachelor of Arts in History and Literature. In 1993, she earned a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Finally, in 1998, she earned a Master of Business Administration in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Wojcicki joined Google in 1999 and became one of the company’s first employees, several years before it acquired YouTube.

Google acquired YouTube in 2006 for $1.65 billion.

Before becoming CEO of YouTube in 2014, Wojcicki served as senior vice president of advertising products at Google.

After nine years in the role, Wojcicki stepped down from her YouTube role in 2023 to focus on “family, health, and personal projects.” She was replaced by her deputy, Neal Mohan, a senior director of advertising and product who joined Google in 2008. At the time, Wojcicki had planned to take an advisory role at Alphabet, Google’s parent company.

“Twenty-five years ago, I made the decision to join two graduate students at Stanford University who were building a new search engine. Their names were Larry and Sergey… It would have been one of the best decisions of my life,” Wojcicki wrote in a blog post the day she left YouTube, referring to Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

Wojcicki’s son, Marco Troper, died just a few months ago

In February, Susan Wojcicki and Dennis Troper lost their 19-year-old son Marco to an accidental overdose, according to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.

Marco Troper was found dead around 4 p.m. in his dorm room at UC Berkeley on February 13, the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office reported. Esther Wojcicki, mother of Susan Wojcicki, an American journalist and educator, confirmed her grandson’s death in a Facebook post, saying, “Yesterday my family suffered a tragedy. My beloved grandson Marco Troper, age 19, passed away yesterday. Our family is devastated beyond belief.”

Troper’s autopsy revealed high levels of cocaine, amphetamines, alprazolam (Xanax) — a medication prescribed for anxiety disorders and panic attacks — and hydroxyzine, an antihistamine used to treat allergies and anxiety, in his system, according to an investigative report from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Coroner’s Office.

According to the coroner’s report, the levels of alprazolam and cocaine in Troper’s blood were high enough to cause death. The report shows that low levels of delta-9, a more common form of THC, were detected in the student’s blood.

Troper suffered from “chronic substance abuse” and had a broken right wrist in a scooter accident that occurred two weeks before his death, the report said.

In a Facebook post, Esther Wojcicki described her grandson as “the kindest, loving, smart, funny and beautiful human being.”

Contributors: Reuters, Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY.

Ahjané Forbes is a reporter for the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, the lottery and public policy. Write to her at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.