‘America truly is the best country in the world’: Sri Lankan-born entrepreneur Chamath Palihapitiya’s message as he turns 50

Chamath Palihapitiya turned 50 by telling his children that his life would have seemed almost unimaginable to his parents when he was born in Sri Lanka in 1976.

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We grew up on welfare

His father, stationed at the Sri Lankan High Commission in Canada, sought refugee status after militants threatened his life. The family stayed in Canada as refugees and struggled financially. “We grew up on welfare,” Palihapitiya wrote, crediting his mother with holding the family together.

At 14, he began working at Burger King and handed his wages to his parents. He said he needed to earn enough to help pay for bus passes because the family could not afford a car. He described himself as a “loser” during his childhood, but said he recovered in his final school year, entered a “great university” and later immigrated to the United States.

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Only in America is this possible

That path became the basis of his birthday tribute to America. “Only in America is this possible,” he wrote, saying he worked, paid taxes and stayed in California out of loyalty to the opportunities it gave him. “I found my wife here. Had my kids here. Found my tribe here,” he said.

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Learn from them. Respect them. BUT MOVE ON

Palihapitiya also referred to deaths, divorce, financial hardship and mistakes. His advice was direct: “Learn from them. Respect them. BUT MOVE ON.” He said he deliberately avoided focusing on his fortune and accomplishments because they “won’t matter” in the end. Instead, he urged his children to be kind, enjoy themselves, do meaningful work, find their community, develop perspective, choose a good partner and live an adventure. He ended with a broad statement of faith in the American Dream: “America truly is the best country in the world.”

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America truly is the best country in the world