1. Guido van Rossum
Guido van Rossum created Python, a programming language that’s now everywhere: web development, data science, machine learning, automation, education, and more. Initially a “hobby” project started in the late 1980s, Python grew into one of the world’s most popular languages, powering entire industries and earning van Rossum global recognition. Over time, as Python became more than just his side-project, van Rossum gradually stepped back. In July 2018, he stepped down as Python’s “Benevolent Dictator For Life.” He later left his job at Dropbox and officially retired in 2019. But that’s not the end, in November 2020, he came out of retirement to join Microsoft as a Distinguished Engineer. Today he lives relatively quietly in California with his family and remains respected, even if he’s no longer in the limelight of Python’s daily evolution.
2. Steve Wozniak
Steve Wozniak helped birth the personal-computer revolution as co-founder of Apple, designing the Apple I and Apple II, machines that changed how people used computers forever. But Wozniak didn’t stay a corporate giant. After the early Apple years, he turned to inventing peripherals (like the first universal remote control via his company CL 9) and, later, ventures like Wheels of Zeus (WOZ), aiming to bring wireless-GPS tech to everyday users. Today he lives a more low-key life, focusing on teaching, philanthropy, and supporting education, far from the glare of early Silicon Valley fame.
3. Jerry Lemelson
Jerome H. Lemelson was one of America’s most prolific, if controversial, inventors. Holding over 600 patents, he contributed to technologies behind videocassette recorders, cordless phones, industrial robots, camcorders, and more. His real achievement came through licensing: many big companies (think major electronics and manufacturing firms) paid him millions to use his patented ideas. Near the end of his life, Lemelson turned to philanthropy: he and his wife founded the Lemelson Foundation, aimed at supporting inventors and innovators, a quieter legacy than the tens of millions he earned.
4. Lee de Forest
Lee de Forest made a discovery that changed communication forever: in 1908 he invented the practical three-electrode vacuum tube (the “Audion”), an amplifier that became the backbone of radio, long-distance telephony, and eventually the electronics that powered broadcasting and sound in film. Despite his pivotal contribution and holding more than 300 patents, de Forest’s life had ups and downs. He reportedly made, and lost, several fortunes. Legal battles over patents ate into his wealth, and his financial highs were followed by serious lows. Still, his work laid the technical foundation for our modern media and electronics era. He died in 1961.
5. Otis T. Carr
Otis T. Carr is one of the more curious, and controversial, entries on this list. In the 1950s, he claimed to have invented a “flying saucer” called the “Ezechiel Wheel,” supposedly powered by electromagnets and batteries to defy gravity. Carr founded OTC Enterprises around the idea, attracting believers and investors interested in “free energy” and UFO-style flight. But his claims failed, and in 1961 he was convicted (on mail-fraud charges). He served part of a 14-year sentence, and after release he quietly moved around, allegedly continuing to hawk non-functional “energy devices.” He died in 1982, largely forgotten by mainstream history, a footnote to an eccentric dream.
6. Trevor Baylis
Trevor Baylis became widely known after inventing the wind-up radio in the early 1990s, a device that provided lifesaving communication in areas without reliable electricity. His idea was sparked by a documentary about AIDS in Africa, where he realized many people lacked access to vital information. The radio earned him international praise and commercial success once it was licensed. Despite early financial gains, Baylis later spoke openly about struggling to protect his intellectual property, spending years advocating for stronger inventor rights. After stepping back from public invention work, he lived quietly on Eel Pie Island in London, where he also worked as a stuntman and enjoyed engineering projects. Until his passing in 2018, Baylis remained a passionate supporter of young innovators, even if he chose a quieter life far from his invention’s early spotlight.
7. Ron Klein
Ron Klein, often called “The Grandfather of Possibilities,” created one of the most widely used technologies in modern banking: the magnetic-stripe credit card. His invention simplified payment processing and became the foundation of global transactions for decades. Klein also designed multiple consumer innovations, including the MLS real estate database and early fax-machine improvements. After selling several of his technologies and stepping away from corporate invention work, Klein transitioned into a more private life as a mentor and speaker. He avoids the high-profile tech spotlight, instead supporting entrepreneurship groups and offering quiet consulting advice. Though his invention reshaped modern finance, Klein chose a calmer later career built on teaching and personal passion projects. Today he lives a peaceful life in Florida, continuing to share insights without chasing the fame that once surrounded his breakthroughs.
8. Doug Engelbart
Doug Engelbart invented the computer mouse and pioneered many technologies that shaped modern computing, including hypertext, early video conferencing, windowed interfaces, and collaborative software tools. His 1968 “Mother of All Demos” is still considered one of the most influential tech demonstrations in history. Despite his groundbreaking contributions, Engelbart never became a Silicon Valley celebrity. He sold the mouse patent for a modest sum and did not profit from its later explosion in popularity. After retiring from active research, Engelbart lived quietly in California, running the Bootstrap Institute, where he focused on ideas for improving collective intelligence rather than pursuing commercial fame. His later life was spent out of the mainstream spotlight, recognized mostly within academic and tech-history circles. Engelbart passed away in 2013, remembered as a visionary whose ideas quietly shaped the digital age.
9. Robert Propst
Robert Propst created the world’s first modern office cubicle system in the 1960s while working for Herman Miller. His invention, the Action Office, was meant to support creativity and flexibility, though it eventually became the standardized cubicle layout found in offices worldwide. Propst earned recognition and financial success early on, but disliked the way companies later cheapened his concept. Disappointed by how the cubicle evolved, he turned his attention to other inventions in hospital equipment, agricultural tools, and ergonomics. Over the years, Propst stepped out of the public eye, choosing a quieter, project-focused life that avoided media attention. Until his passing in 2000, he continued inventing privately and consulting in limited ways, living far from the fame his office innovation created.
10. Scott Hassan
Scott Hassan is often described as the “third unofficial founder” of Google, having written much of the original code for the Google Search engine while working with Larry Page and Sergey Brin in the 1990s. Although he never became a public face of the company, Hassan financially benefited from his early involvement and later sold his shares for a substantial sum. After leaving the Google world, he founded Willow Garage, a robotics research lab that helped launch the influential open-source Robot Operating System (ROS). Despite leading major breakthroughs, he eventually stepped back from the tech spotlight, maintaining a private life mostly centered around personal ventures and investment projects. In recent years, he has appeared in the news mainly due to a high-profile divorce case, but otherwise remains far removed from public tech fame, living quietly while still influencing robotics behind the scenes.
11. Sir Tim Berners-Lee
Sir Tim Berners-Lee changed the world in 1989 when he invented the World Wide Web while working at CERN. Instead of cashing out massively, he gave the web to the world royalty-free, a choice that allowed billions to access and build on it. Though he later benefited from roles at MIT, Oxford, and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), Berners-Lee intentionally stayed away from billionaire tech culture. In recent years, he has focused on privacy reform and his project, Solid, which aims to return personal data control to everyday users. Today he lives a largely low-profile life between the UK and the U.S., still active in digital-rights discussions but far from the commercial spotlight. Despite inventing one of the most transformative tools in human history, Berners-Lee prefers quiet advocacy over celebrity status.
12. Martin Cooper
Martin Cooper pioneered the world’s first handheld mobile phone at Motorola in 1973, making a historic call that paved the way for today’s smartphone era. His invention eventually helped shape a trillion-dollar industry. After leading Motorola’s cellular program, Cooper later launched several companies, including ArrayComm, which developed key wireless technologies. Though he achieved significant financial success, he remained far quieter than the tech titans who followed. In his later years, Cooper became a calm voice in the telecom world, advocating for better broadband access and thoughtful innovation, while avoiding the public spotlight. Now in his 90s, he lives a modest life in California, frequently offering insights to journalists but not seeking fame. Despite having kick-started mobile communication, he remains surprisingly under-recognized outside tech history circles.
13. Harvey Ball
Harvey Ball created one of the most recognizable images on Earth: the bright yellow smiley face. Designed in 1963 as a morale-boosting symbol for an insurance company, Ball was paid just $45 for the artwork and never sought royalties. The symbol later exploded globally, appearing on merchandise, advertising, and pop culture. Rather than chase commercial gains, Ball stayed largely out of the spotlight, continuing his work as a graphic artist in Worcester, Massachusetts. In the 1990s, he founded World Smile Day, a charity-driven event encouraging small acts of kindness. Ball lived quietly until his death in 2001, known locally as a warm community figure but not widely celebrated as the creator of a global icon. His legacy remains one of humility, an inventor who made the world smile without capitalizing on his creation.
14. Tony Fadell
Tony Fadell helped revolutionize portable music as one of the key creators of the iPod at Apple, later co-founding Nest Labs, which popularized smart thermostats and home automation. Google acquired Nest in 2014 for $3.2 billion, making Fadell extremely wealthy. Yet after the sale, he stepped back from running the company, citing burnout and the desire for a quieter life. In the years since, he has shifted into selective advising, writing, and environmental-tech advocacy rather than high-profile leadership. Fadell spends much of his time in Europe, focusing on climate-friendly hardware design and mentoring startups. Though his inventions shaped two major industries, digital music and smart homes, he now prefers working behind the scenes. His lifestyle today is far calmer compared to his intense years at Apple and Nest.
15. Louis von Ahn
Louis von Ahn created CAPTCHA and reCAPTCHA, technologies that helped secure the internet while also digitizing old books through human verification tasks. Google acquired reCAPTCHA in 2009, bringing von Ahn significant financial success. Instead of staying in big tech, he quietly returned to Carnegie Mellon University before launching Duolingo, which has since become the world’s most popular language-learning platform. Although Duolingo made him even more successful, von Ahn still avoids the billionaire-influencer lifestyle, living privately in Pittsburgh and rarely courting the media. He continues steering Duolingo’s direction but often works away from public attention, focusing on education access and research-driven product design. Despite inventing tools used by billions, von Ahn remains known for his humble, low-key presence in the tech world.
16. Blake Ross
Blake Ross became famous in his teens as the co-creator of Mozilla Firefox, the browser that challenged Internet Explorer and reshaped early-2000s web culture. Firefox’s success gave Ross widespread recognition and financial stability when it gained hundreds of millions of users. Instead of remaining a high-profile figure in browser development, Ross stepped away from Mozilla and joined Facebook in 2007, where he worked quietly as a product director and contributed to several internal projects. Over the years, he has largely retreated from the tech spotlight, choosing writing, creative work, and personal pursuits over public-facing roles. Today he keeps a low profile, occasionally sharing insights online but avoiding the entrepreneur-celebrity path many expected. Despite helping create one of the most influential browsers of its time, Ross lives a mostly quiet, private life centered on creativity rather than fame.
17. Daniel Ek (Early Spotify Exit Co-Founder)
Before Spotify became a global streaming powerhouse, Daniel Ek launched Advertigo, an online advertising company he sold to TradeDoubler in 2006. The sale reportedly made him a millionaire in his early 20s. Instead of staying in the ad-tech world, Ek stepped back from corporate life, moved into a secluded Stockholm apartment, and spent time reflecting on what he wanted next, at one point even considering early retirement. That quiet period eventually inspired Spotify, but Ek’s retreat from public life during those years is often overlooked. While he later returned to found Spotify, the chapter after he “cashed out and disappeared” remains a striking example of someone stepping away from success to reset his life. Even today, despite Spotify’s fame, Ek maintains a relatively private personal life in Sweden, far from the Silicon Valley spotlight.
18. Nolan Bushnell
Nolan Bushnell co-founded Atari and helped launch the modern video game industry with hits like Pong. After selling Atari to Warner Communications in 1976 for an estimated $28 million, Bushnell stepped away from the company and shifted into a quieter mix of entrepreneurial and experimental projects. Though he later created Chuck E. Cheese and other ventures, many of his post-Atari companies stayed out of the public eye or never reached the mainstream. Over time, Bushnell has chosen a more low-profile lifestyle, focusing on mentoring young tech founders, writing about creativity, and quietly supporting new gaming ideas. He continues living in California, away from the spotlight of his Atari days, enjoying a long career as an industry pioneer who prefers to influence from a distance rather than remain a front-facing celebrity.
Some inventors stay in the spotlight forever, but many choose a different path. After creating groundbreaking innovations, the people in this list stepped back, cashed out, or simply moved on to quieter lives. Whether they turned to mentoring, philanthropy, family life, or private projects, each left a mark that still shapes our world today.
The story 18 People Who Invented Something Huge, Cashed Out, and Disappeared- Where Are They Now? was first published on Daily FETCH
