KYIV TO CALIFORNIA
Jan Koum was born on February 24, 1976, in Kyiv, Ukraine, a country that then still fell under the former Soviet Union, to Jewish parents as their only child. He lived a simple life in a small town that was disrupted by the chaotic political environment and anti-Semitism in the country. To escape the unfavorable conditions in their native land, the family decided to migrate to the United States. Jan, along with his mother and grandmother moved to the US in 1992, and his father planned to join the family later. However, his father fell ill in Ukraine and could not make it to the US. He died in 1997. Aged 16 at the time of the immigration, Jan faced considerable challenges in adjusting to the new…
