- Net Worth: $1.1 billion
Getty James Monsees, co-founder and chief product officer at JUUL Labs Inc., testifies before the House Economic and Consumer Policy Subcommittee which is examining JUUL's role in the youth nicotine epidemic, on July 25, 2019 in Washington, DC.
James Monsees, co-founder of Juul and the e-cigarette company’s former chief product officer, is in the news after a settlement was reached regarding marketing campaigns targeting youth. Monsees left the company in 2020. His estimated net worth is $900,000, according to Forbes.
Juul Labs was ordered to pay nearly $440 million to settle the lawsuit following a two-year investigation launched by 33 states, according to NPR. The investigation sought to prove the company was marketing high-nicotine vaping products to teens. The company was blamed for a surge in teen vaping, the news outlet reported.
“Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced the deal Tuesday on behalf of the states plus Puerto Rico, which joined together in 2020 to probe Juul’s early promotions and claims about the safety and benefits of its technology as a smoking alternative,” NPR reported.
Juul Labs still faces nine separate lawsuits from the remaining states, and hundreds of personal lawsuits filed on behalf of teens and others who say they became addicted to the vaping products marketed by the company, according to NPR.
Here’s what you need to know:
Monsees and Juul Co-Founder Adam Bowen Lost Billionaire Status in 2019
Monsees and Adam Bowen, Juul’s co-founders, had been billionaires until 2019, when their estimated net worth dropped from about $1.1 billion to $$900,000, according to Forbes.
The estimate was based on the company’s falling valuation and an investor write-down at the time. Forbes estimated that Bowen and Monsees both held a 1.75% stake in the company.
The company’s value has fallen further since then. Juul lost 95% of its value in 2022 as U.S. regulators worked toward banning the company’s e-cigarettes, according to CNBC. The news outlet reported July 28, 2022, that Altria cut the value of the Juul investment by more than $1.1 billion, setting the new value at $450 million as its second quarter came to a close.
Monsees Left Juul in 2020 & Works as a ‘Design Thinker, Implementor’ in 2022
Monsees left Juul in 2020 after working for the company he founded with Bowen as its chief product officer. He wrote in a companywide memo at the time, obtained by Buzzfeed News, that he was looking forward to spending more time with his family. He had recently been married.
“After 15 years on this tremendous journey, it is with a great deal of thought and consideration that I have decided it is time for me to move on from JUUL Labs and step down from our Board. These many years have been incredible, and I did not make this decision lightly,” the memo said, according to Buzzfeed.
He also said in the memo that he was “looking forward to spending more time with my family and pursuing other interests both personally and professionally,” according to Buzzfeed.
Monsees describes himself on his LinkedIn page as a “design thinker, implementor” and an investor.
He received a master of fine arts degree in product design from Stanford in 2005, his page says. He launched James Monsees Product Design in 2004 “developing consumer products for cool companies,” his page says. Those included snowshoes for K2/Atlas Snowshoe Company, “secret things for a San Francisco fuel cell startup” and “human power generation for High Tide Associates.” Monsees lives in San Francisco.
