While his former schoolmates in Ukraine are perhaps involved in the social unrest engulfing the country, Jan Koum, an Ukrainian Jew in America for less than 20 years, became the newest tech multi billionaire thanks to Facebook's acquisition of the company he co founded, WhatsApp.  Parmy Olson of Forbes relates the story of Koum's early years, the family's initial tough times here and how Koum's restlessness and creative intelligence plus persistence, formed WhatsApp. Indeed, linking past with present and future, Koum insisted on signing the agreement with Facebook in a former California social services office which dispensed the food stamps the family initially used upon their arrival. Koum...was born and raised in a small village outside of Kiev, Ukraine, the only child of a housewife and a construction manager who built hospitals and schools. His house had no hot water, and his parents rarely talked on the phone in case it was tapped by the state. It sounds bad, but Koum...(Read Full Post)