Jamie Beaton

Jamie Beaton
Beaton in 2017
Born1995 or 1996 (age 30–31)
Auckland, New Zealand
Education
OccupationsEducational entrepreneur and perpetual student
Years active2013–present
TitleCo-founder and CEO of Crimson Education

Jamie Beaton (born 1995/1996) is a New Zealand entrepreneur and academic who founded Crimson Education. In 2016, he graduated from Harvard University with a master's degree in applied mathematics. In 2022, a venture capital fund valued Crimson Education at US$550 million.

Beaton is also known for his accrual of over a dozen advanced degrees, including an MBA from Stanford, a law degree from Yale, a public policy PhD from Oxford, and several masters degrees.

Early life and education

Jamie Beaton was born and raised in Auckland. His parents were property managers. He attended King's College, Auckland on an academic scholarship. Beaton graduated with a bachelor's degree and master's degree in applied mathematics from Harvard University in 2016 after three years of study. He also has two degrees from Stanford University and a master's degree in global affairs from Tsinghua University in Beijing. In 2023, he received his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. He attended the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, earning a doctor of philosophy in public policy at St John's College.

In June 2024, Beaton drew attention online after users circulated a screenshot of the education section of his LinkedIn profile. Beaton has earned degrees from several internationally prominent universities including Harvard, Tsinghua, and Stanford. In response to criticism Beaton was simply accumulating credentials, Beaton said that his degrees were not collected for their own sake, but reflected different stages of his academic and professional development.

Career

In 2013, Beaton founded Crimson Education, a university and college admission preparation company, with Fangzhou Jiang and Sharndré Kushor. The business attracted investments of approximately NZ$1.4 million. Hedge fund managers Julian Robertson and Chase Coleman, as well as Alex Robertson and Soichiro Fukutake, were the primary initial investors. Customers of Crimson Education have reported paying thousands of dollars for tutoring services when attempting to gain entry to an Ivy League school.

As of 2022, the business had 630 full-time staff and more than 3,000 tutors and mentors. In the same year a capital raise by a venture capital fund valued the company at US$550 million. In 2024, the company was valued at $1 billion after a Series D funding.

Lawsuits

In 2017, Crimson Education was involved in a breach of contract litigation with a former employee. The matter was eventually subject to a confidential settlement. In 2018, the University of Auckland filed a suit against a Crimson Education subsidiary, alleging breach of copyright. The suit was eventually settled.

In January 2021 it was reported that a $10-million High Court lawsuit had been filed by a competitor of Crimson involving allegations of employee poaching. Beaton had also filed a civil assault claim against the owner of that competitor. Crimson Education chose not to comment on the assault claim filed by Beaton. Crimson stated it was not unusual for companies like Crimson to "experience some commercial litigation". In May 2022, media reported that the parties reached a confidential settlement.

Personal life

Beaton was in a relationship with Crimson Education co-founder Sharndré Kushor. Beaton and Kushor met during their secondary education at a Model United Nations conference. As of 2022, they were no longer in a relationship. He met his wife, Priscilla, at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism; they were married in July 2026 in Los Angeles, with former New Zealand Prime Minister John Key officiating the wedding.

Beaton sat on the review panel of the centre-right New Zealand National Party election campaign after the party lost the 2020 election.

In 2025, Beaton was listed in 112th place on the NBR Rich List, with an estimated net worth of $220 million.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Nippert, Matt (4 February 2016). "Meet Jamie Beaton, the 20 year-old worth $40 million". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Cacciola, Scott (15 September 2026). "He Might End Up the World's Most Educated Person". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Olds, Jeremy (4 February 2016). "Business boy wonder Jamie Beaton: Vision transcends age". Stuff. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  4. ↑ Morgan, Edward (22 February 2022). "How to be accepted into a top US uni, by somebody who has done it". The Australian. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  5. 1 2 Stanton, Kate (17 September 2018). "'People thought we were interns but we were in charge'". BBC. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Patten, Sally (14 September 2022). "Meet the 27-year-old with degrees from Harvard, Stanford and Oxford". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Nippert, Matt (16 October 2022). "Billion-dollar growth: Jamie Beaton's Crimson claims unicorn status". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  8. ↑ Belkin, Douglas (16 October 2024). "The guru who says he can get your 11-year-old into Harvard". Wall Street Journal.
  9. ↑ Yee, Jonathan (15 August 2024). "29-year-old CEO has 9 university degrees, shares secret to getting into top schools". MS News – Independent News For Singaporeans. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  10. ↑ "LinkedIn profile with degrees from top universities like Oxford, Harvard, Stanford goes viral: Netizens call it 'cheat code for life'". The Economic Times. 14 June 2024. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  11. ↑ Waiwiri-Smith, Lyric (17 June 2024). "Jamie Beaton, the Kiwi with several Ivy League degrees and no debt". Stuff. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  12. ↑ Beaton, Jamie (15 September 2024). "Jamie Beaton's Academic Journey The Viral Thanos of LinkedIn". Crimson Education. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  13. ↑ Skoric, Nikolina (24 October 2017). "Meet the 22-year-old CEO who used Facebook to build a $200M business". GQ. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  14. ↑ Bolton, Robert (15 October 2019). "Meet the 24-year-old CEO who just raised $20m". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  15. ↑ Andrew, Michael (1 May 2022). "Jamie Beaton's rules for life". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  16. ↑ "Newly minted unicorn: Jamie Beaton's Crimson raises $68m at $1b valuation". The New Zealand Herald. 31 August 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dunkley, Daniel (3 January 2021). "Dark cloud looms over NZ's bright young thing". Stuff. Archived from the original on 3 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  18. ↑ Mace, Will (2 May 2022). "Crimson and Eurekly settle legal claims". National Business Review. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  19. ↑ Young, Victoria (9 May 2022). "Inside Crimson's latest secret settlement". Business Desk. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  20. ↑ McLarin, Hayley (23 July 2026). "Kiwi millionaire's lavish LA wedding: 'John Key was my wedding celebrant'". Now to Love - New Zealand. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
  21. ↑ Nippert, Matt. "'We had $300k of sales, now $300m': Crimson's founder on growth and grit". NZ Herald. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
  22. ↑ Thomas, Dom (23 November 2020). "National Party announces terms of reference for election campaign review". RNZ. Retrieved 9 January 2023.