Bill Clerico Net Worth 2026: WePay Founder, Convective Capital
No reputable outlet publishes a net worth for Bill Clerico. Here is what is documented about the WePay co-founder, the company's sale to JPMorgan Chase and the disaster-resilience venture fund he now runs.
- Full name
- Bill Clerico
- Profession
- Co-founder of WePay; founder and managing partner of Convective Capital
- Nationality
- American
- Source of wealth
- Sale of WePay to JPMorgan Chase; angel and venture investing
In this article
No reputable publisher has estimated Bill Clerico's net worth. The $44 million figure that used to lead this page had no source, so it has been removed. What is documented is the deal that made him wealthy: Clerico co-founded the payments company WePay, which JPMorgan Chase bought in December 2017. Forbes reported the price as up to $400 million; TechCrunch has since put it at $300 million. His share of the proceeds has not been disclosed. Today he runs Convective Capital, a venture firm investing in wildfire and disaster-resilience technology.
What is Bill Clerico's net worth?
There is no estimate from Forbes, Bloomberg, Celebrity Net Worth or a major newspaper. WePay raised about $75 million across four funding rounds before the sale, according to Forbes, so venture investors owned a large part of the company when it was sold. How much Clerico kept, and what his later investments are worth, is private.
TechCrunch reported in May 2026 that Clerico was among the wealthy individuals who backed Convective's first fund, which shows he invests his own money alongside outside backers. He has also made dozens of angel investments.
Bill Clerico's income and investments
The old page gave him a $900,000 yearly income. There was no source, so that is gone. His documented sources of wealth are:
- The WePay sale. JPMorgan Chase acquired WePay in December 2017, CNBC reported. Clerico stayed on as CEO inside the bank, and in 2019 he announced that WePay customers banking with Chase would get free same-day deposits.
- Angel investing. TechCrunch reported that he had made about 50 angel investments by 2022; his own profile now says he has backed more than 75 companies.
- Convective Capital. He launched the firm in 2022 with a $35 million first fund, then announced an $85 million second fund in May 2026, backed mostly by institutions such as insurers and asset managers.
Read Article: Brian Shanahan Net Worth
Professional life: building WePay
After graduating from Boston College, Clerico worked in investment banking on technology mergers, Forbes reported, sometimes sleeping in his car between long shifts. He and his college friend Rich Aberman had the idea for WePay when they were helping friends collect money for group trips such as ski weekends. They quit their jobs, were accepted into Y Combinator, and drove from Boston to California to build the company.
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| c. 2008 | Co-founds WePay with Rich Aberman; joins Y Combinator |
| 2014 | WePay has 65 employees and processes $1 billion in payments (Mercury News) |
| 2017 | JPMorgan Chase acquires WePay |
| 2019 | Launches same-day deposits for WePay users who bank with Chase |
| 2022 | Founds Convective Capital with a $35 million fund |
| 2026 | Raises an $85 million second fund |
WePay started as a consumer group-payments tool but switched off its consumer business, which had supplied most of its revenue, to focus on an API for platforms. Early customers included GoFundMe, Meetup and FreshBooks. Its best-known marketing stunt was dropping a block of ice with cash frozen inside outside a PayPal developer conference, a jab at PayPal account freezes that went viral.
The old version of this page described him as a managing director of Chase Merchant Services and made sweeping claims about WePay's standing among payment processors. We have kept only what sources support: he ran WePay as CEO after the JPMorgan acquisition.
Recent changes (2025-2026): Convective Capital
Clerico left WePay to invest and to volunteer as a firefighter, TechCrunch reported in 2022. Watching wildfires close the road to his home in Mendocino, California, and struggling to get home insurance pushed him toward what he calls firetech. Convective's first fund backed companies such as Pano, which uses AI cameras to spot fires early; Raine, which builds autonomous firefighting aircraft; Burnbot, which makes brush-clearing robots; and Stand, which helps homeowners harden their houses.
With the $85 million fund announced in May 2026, the firm widened its focus from wildfire to physical-world risk in general. Its first investments from that fund included The Lumber Manufactory, AI home-design startup Drafted and power-line inspection drone maker Voltaire. Clerico also co-wrote an article on funding wildfire solutions for the Stanford Social Innovation Review.
Early life and family
Clerico grew up on the New Jersey shore, about an hour south of New York, Forbes reported. His father served in the Air Force, worked construction and taught himself to program in the 1980s, and Bill started writing text-based games with him at six or seven. He won a Presidential Scholarship to Boston College.
Bill Clerico's wife
The old page named his wife and said he has two children. We could not confirm those details in a published source, so we do not repeat them.
Education, age and height
He studied at Boston College. The old page also listed a high school, an age of 50, a height of 5 feet 8 inches and a weight of 74 kg; none of that was sourced. The Mercury News reported he was 21 and a new Boston College graduate when he came up with WePay, and Forbes said he left his corporate job at 22, which points to an age in his early 40s today, not 50.
See Also: Bill Poulos Net Worth
Compared with other tech founders
Other founders and early tech figures profiled on this site include DreamBox co-founder Ben Slivka and online instructor Chris Haroun. As with Clerico, no reputable outlet publishes a verified net worth for either.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bill Clerico's net worth?
No reputable outlet has published a net worth for Bill Clerico. He co-founded WePay, which JPMorgan Chase bought in 2017 for a price reported at $300 million to $400 million, but his share of the sale is private. He now runs Convective Capital, a disaster-resilience venture fund.
How much did JPMorgan pay for WePay?
The price was not officially disclosed. Forbes reported that JPMorgan Chase paid up to $400 million, while TechCrunch reported in 2026 that the sale was for $300 million. WePay had raised about $75 million from investors before the deal, which closed in December 2017.
What is Convective Capital?
Convective Capital is a venture firm Bill Clerico founded in 2022 to back wildfire technology. It raised a $35 million first fund and announced an $85 million second fund in May 2026, broadening its focus to disaster resilience and physical-world risk.
Who founded WePay?
WePay was co-founded by Bill Clerico and Rich Aberman, friends from Boston College. They started it to help groups collect money for shared expenses, joined Y Combinator, moved to California and later turned it into a payments service for platforms such as GoFundMe.
Where did Bill Clerico go to college?
Bill Clerico attended Boston College on a Presidential Scholarship, where he met WePay co-founder Rich Aberman. After graduating he worked in investment banking on technology mergers before leaving at 22 to start WePay, according to Forbes.
Follow Bill Clerico
Sources
- Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alejandrocremades/2019/08/13/he-left-his-corporate-job-at-22-to-build-a-business-that-jpmorgan-acquired-for-400-million/
- TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/21/convective-capital-raises-an-85-million-fund-to-build-disaster-resilience/
- TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/07/convective-capitals-35-million-answer-to-the-increasing-threat-of-wildfires/
- CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/10/jp-morgan-takes-on-stripe-and-square-with-faster-payments-to-merchants.html
- The Mercury News: https://www.mercurynews.com/2014/11/14/qa-bill-clerico-wepay-founder-and-ceo-on-the-future-of-mobile-payments/
- Stanford Social Innovation Review: https://ssir.org/bios/bill_clerico
