Top Angel Investors 2026: The Most Successful Angels by Exit Rate

Most lists of top angel investors rank people by popularity, visibility, or net worth. Those numbers tell you who's famous. They don't tell you who backs companies that actually reach an exit. So we ranked angels a different way, by exit rate, using real investment and exit data instead of reputation.

We use this same data when we look at co-investors and syndicate partners for our own portfolio companies. We're a pre-seed and seed fund that works directly with early-stage founders, so knowing the difference between a strong track record and a big name is part of how we help founders build their cap tables.

If you're still working out how to reach angels in the first place, start with our guide on how to find angel investors. This page is about who belongs at the top of your list once you start building it.

We analyzed U.S.-based angel investors and ranked them by exit rate: the share of the companies they've backed that went on to be acquired, go public, or merge. We also removed anyone who hasn't made a personal investment in the last three years, so every name here is someone you could actually pitch.

Key Takeaways

Exit rate and fame don't line up very well. Several of the top performers here have little public profile, while some of the best-known names sit lower on the list. Portfolio size matters, though not quite the way we expected. Eight of the top 10 have backed between 25 and 64 companies. But the biggest portfolios don't fall off as sharply as we assumed: Ron Conway ranks #4 with 98 companies. The angels worth paying attention to are the ones who repeat good outcomes, not the ones who had one big win.

We were also surprised by how many well-known angels didn't make the cut. About half of the top names in our original data haven't written a personal check in three years or more. Some have stopped investing, and many now invest only through funds they run.

Methodology

We looked at four numbers for each angel:

• Number of investments (every check, including follow-on rounds)
• Number of portfolio companies (each company counted once)
• Number of exits
• Exit rate, calculated as exits divided by portfolio companies

We use investments to decide who qualifies, because it shows how active an angel has been. We use portfolio companies to calculate exit rate, because a company can only exit once. An angel who backs the same company in three rounds shouldn't have that company count three times against them.

To make the list:

• At least 25 investments
• At least 10 exits
• Primarily based and investing in the U.S.
• At least one personal investment since September 2023

Investments made only through a venture firm an angel runs don't count toward the activity rule, because this is a ranking of individual angel records. Angels are ranked by exit rate, highest first.

The 24 Most Successful Active Angel Investors

These angels combine scale and consistency. They've backed a lot of companies, a large share of those companies reached an exit, and they're still writing personal checks.

Angel Investor Profiles

Here are some examples of angel investors behind the numbers, and what each one built before they started writing checks. Their backgrounds usually explain the kinds of companies they back.

1. Marc Andreessen (43 companies, 32 exits, 74%)

Marc co-founded Netscape, then Loudcloud, and later the venture firm Andreessen Horowitz. His personal angel record is separate from the firm's, and it's the strongest on this list. He's based in San Francisco.

2. Keith Rabois (64 companies, 44 exits, 69%)

Keith held executive roles at PayPal, LinkedIn and Square, co-founded Opendoor, and is a Managing Director at Khosla Ventures. He has one of the larger portfolios in the top 10, and his rate held up across it. His operating background leans toward fintech and marketplaces.

3. Ali Partovi (37 companies, 24 exits, 65%)

Ali was on the founding team of LinkExchange, which Microsoft bought in 1998, and co-founded the music service iLike. With his twin brother Hadi, he started Code.org, and the two were early investors in Facebook, Dropbox and Airbnb. He now runs Neo, which backs young technical founders, and he made the first investment in the AI code editor Cursor. He's based in San Francisco.

4. Ron Conway (98 companies, 63 exits, 64%)

Ron founded SV Angel and was an early investor in Google, Facebook and Twitter. He's the main exception to the idea that big portfolios mean lower hit rates: nearly 100 companies and still in the top five. He's based in San Francisco.

5. David Tisch (85 companies, 53 exits, 62%)

David is Managing Partner at BoxGroup, a New York seed fund, and co-founded Techstars in New York. He also leads the startup studio at Cornell Tech. Like Conway, he's kept a high exit rate across a large portfolio.

6. Dave Morin (61 companies, 38 exits, 62%)

Dave worked at Apple and was an early Facebook employee, where he helped build Facebook Platform. He then founded Path, co-founded Slow Ventures, and now runs Offline Ventures. He's based in Mill Valley, California.

7. Mark Goines (29 companies, 18 exits, 62%)

Mark helped build and run Intuit's TurboTax business after earlier roles at Wells Fargo and Charles Schwab. He was later Vice Chairman of Personal Capital. His angel exits include Mint, and he sat on the board of Practice Fusion, a cloud-based health records company. He's one of the clearest fintech specialists on this list.

8. Bill Lee (25 companies, 15 exits, 60%)

Bill co-founded Remarq, a Benchmark-backed collaboration software company, and is now a co-founder and venture partner at Craft Ventures. He invests mostly at seed and is based in San Francisco.

9. Troy Carter (26 companies, 15 exits, 58%)

Troy founded Atom Factory, where he managed artists including Lady Gaga and John Legend, and later served as Spotify's Global Head of Creator Services. Through AF Square he was an early investor in companies like Uber, Lyft, Dropbox and Warby Parker. He now runs Q&A and Venice Music, and is based in the Los Angeles area.

10. Mitch Kapor (54 companies, 31 exits, 57%)

Mitch founded Lotus Development, the company behind Lotus 1-2-3, and co-founded the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He's now a partner at Kapor Capital in Oakland, which backs founders working to close gaps in access and opportunity.

11. Auren Hoffman (78 companies, 44 exits, 56%)

Auren was CEO of LiveRamp and founded SafeGraph, both data companies that sell to businesses. He's also a general partner at Flex Capital. He's based in San Francisco.

12. Joshua Schachter (70 companies, 39 exits, 56%)

Joshua founded del.icio.us, the social bookmarking site Yahoo acquired in 2005, and later worked at Google and ran Tasty Labs. He's one of the most active angels on this list, with a new investment in September 2026. He's based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

13. Roger Ehrenberg (33 companies, 18 exits, 55%)

Roger founded IA Ventures, a New York firm that backs companies building a competitive edge through data. Before investing, he spent years in finance at Deutsche Bank and Citibank. He's based in New York.

14. Timothy Ferriss (35 companies, 19 exits, 54%)

Tim is best known as the author of The 4-Hour Workweek and host of a long-running podcast. He was an early investor in Twitter and an advisor to Uber and Shopify. He's far more famous than his rank suggests, which makes him a good example of how visibility and exit rate differ.

15. Hank Vigil (26 companies, 14 exits, 54%)

Hank is Senior Vice President of Strategy and Partnerships at Microsoft and co-founded Acequia Capital. His exits include Pinterest. He's based in Michigan, one of several top angels on this list outside Silicon Valley.

16. Benjamin Ling (75 companies, 40 exits, 53%)

Ben held product and business roles at Google, YouTube and Facebook, and was COO of Badoo. He was a partner at Khosla Ventures and now runs Bling Capital. He's based in Menlo Park.

17. Jack Abraham (25 companies, 13 exits, 52%)

Jack founded Milo, a local shopping search engine he sold to eBay in 2010 at age 24. In 2012 he started Atomic, a venture studio that has co-founded companies including Hims & Hers. As an angel he backed Pinterest, Postmates, Uber and Flatiron Health.

18. Kim Perell (27 companies, 14 exits, 52%)

Kim is the founder and CEO of 100.co and was previously CEO of Amobee, a global marketing technology company. She's based in Miami and is the only woman on this year's list.

19. Gary Vaynerchuk (81 companies, 41 exits, 51%)

Gary built Wine Library, co-founded VaynerMedia, and is Chairman of VaynerX. He was an early investor in Uber. He's one of the most famous angel investors in the U.S., and his record is solid, but it sits in the bottom half of this list.

20. Chamath Palihapitiya (28 companies, 13 exits, 46%)

Chamath led growth at Facebook, founded Social Capital, and now runs 8090 Solutions. His exits include SoFi. He's based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

21. Jonah Goodhart (37 companies, 17 exits, 46%)

Jonah co-founded Moat, the ad analytics company Oracle acquired in 2017, and was an early investor in Right Media, which Yahoo bought. He now co-founds companies through Montauk Labs and is co-founder and CEO of Mobian. He's based in New York.

22. Geoff Ralston (34 companies, 15 exits, 44%)

Geoff helped build what became Yahoo Mail, later served as Yahoo's Chief Product Officer, and was CEO of Lala, which Apple bought in 2009. He was President of Y Combinator from 2019 to 2022. In 2025 he launched the Safe AI Fund, which backs startups working on AI safety and security. He's based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

23. Shiva Rajaraman (25 companies, 11 exits, 44%)

Shiva held product leadership roles at Google, YouTube and Spotify, and was CTO of WeWork. He's based in San Francisco and mostly backs seed-stage companies.

24. David Carrico (26 companies, 11 exits, 42%)

David co-founded EvntLive and PrimeMind and was CEO of Valparaiso Pictures. He's based in Los Angeles and invests mostly at seed.

Angel Investors Who Back Enterprise, Fintech, and Healthcare Startups

Most of the angels above invest across categories, but a few have operating backgrounds that line up closely with specific sectors. If you're building in one of these areas, their experience is likely to matter as much as their check.

Enterprise software. Mitch Kapor founded Lotus, Auren Hoffman ran LiveRamp and founded SafeGraph, and Hank Vigil leads strategy and partnerships at Microsoft. All three know what it takes to sell technology to businesses. We back founders here too; see how we think about Enterprise SaaS.

Fintech. Mark Goines spent years running TurboTax at Intuit and was Vice Chairman of Personal Capital. Keith Rabois was an executive at PayPal and Square. Here's what we look for in fintech.

Healthcare. Mark Goines sat on the board of Practice Fusion, an early cloud health records company. Jack Abraham co-founded Hims & Hers through Atomic and backed Flatiron Health. Tim Ferriss and Gary Vaynerchuk both invested in Neko Health in 2026. Here's how we approach healthcare.

Cybersecurity and AI. Geoff Ralston's Safe AI Fund backs startups working on AI safety and security, and his latest personal investment was in Asymmetric Security. Mark Goines was also Chief Marketing Officer at PassMark Security earlier in his career. See how we think about cybersecurity and vertical AI.

If you're building in the future of work or another space, the same idea applies: look for angels who've built or sold in your market, then check their exit record.

Key Insights from the Data

Mid-range portfolios still perform best

Angels with roughly 25 to 70 portfolio companies make up most of the top of the list. At that size an angel has made enough bets for their exit rate to mean something, and each one still reflects real conviction.

Big portfolios are a mixed bag

We expected the most active angels to show clearly lower rates. Some do: Gary Vaynerchuk (81 companies) sits at 51%. But Ron Conway (98) and David Tisch (85) are both in the top five. Volume alone doesn't predict much in either direction.

Famous angel investors vs. the most successful ones

Some of the most famous angel investors are here, but not at the top. Tim Ferriss ranks #14, Gary Vaynerchuk #19 and Chamath Palihapitiya #20. Meanwhile, Mark Goines (#7) and Bill Lee (#8), who have far less public name recognition, rank above all three. That gap between visibility and results is the main thing this data shows.

Great angels aren't only in Silicon Valley

David Tisch, Roger Ehrenberg and Jonah Goodhart are in New York, Hank Vigil is in Michigan, Kim Perell is in Miami, and Troy Carter and David Carrico are in Los Angeles. The Bay Area still leads, but it isn't the only place strong angel track records are built.

Smaller portfolios are worth watching

Angels with fewer than 25 investments didn't qualify for this list, but a few are worth knowing. Jared Kopf, for example, has 14 exits across 18 companies (78%) and is still actively investing.

Women angel investors on this list

Kim Perell (#18) is the only woman on this year's ranking, which says a lot about who has historically had the capital and access to build a 25+ company angel portfolio. For a full ranking focused on women investors, see our list of top women angel investors.

What this means for founders

Not all angel investors are the same, and a big name isn't the same as a strong track record.

What we've seen work:

• Start with angels who are still active. An impressive record doesn't help you if the angel stopped writing personal checks years ago.
• Look for operating experience in your space. The angels on this list tend to back what they know: fintech operators back fintech, data founders back data companies.
• Don't build your list around the names you already know. Some of the strongest records here belong to angels most founders have never heard of.

Start with track record, then check stage, sector and geography.

When you're ready to raise a larger round, our list of top pre-seed funds and our pre-seed funding guide cover the next step.

Important Caveat

This analysis uses publicly available investment and exit data.

Exit rate is a useful signal of how often an angel backs companies that reach an outcome, but it doesn't capture everything. It doesn't account for ownership stakes, return multiples, or how involved an angel is with each company. Crunchbase data can also be incomplete, especially for smaller deals, so an angel may be more active than their profile shows.

Treat exit rate as a directional measure, not a complete picture of an investor's success.

FAQs

1. What is exit rate and why does it matter for evaluating angel investors?
Exit rate is the number of exits divided by the number of portfolio companies. It shows how consistently an angel backs companies that get acquired, go public, or merge. Unlike net worth or deal count, it reflects actual outcomes, which makes it a more useful signal for founders deciding who to pitch.

2. Why aren't well-known investors like Mark Cuban or Paul Graham on this list?
A big name doesn't guarantee a high exit rate or a recent personal investment. Some famous investors have very large portfolios, where it's harder to stay selective, and others now invest mainly through funds rather than as individual angels. This list only includes active U.S. angels who meet all of our criteria, and it rewards consistency over celebrity.

3. Does a high exit rate mean an investor will generate high returns?
Not necessarily. An exit can be a small acquisition or a huge IPO. An angel could have a high exit rate with modest returns, or a lower rate with one massive winner. Use exit rate as one signal, not the full story.

4. How should early-stage founders use this data when targeting investors?
Use it as a filter. If an angel has a strong exit rate across 25 or more investments and is still actively investing, they've repeatedly picked companies that reached an outcome. Then check their stage, geography and sector focus to see if they're a fit for what you're building.

5. What is an angel investor?
An angel investor is an individual who invests their own money in early-stage startups, usually in exchange for equity or convertible notes. Because they aren't managing a fund for outside investors, they often have more flexibility on check size and timing than VC firms.

6. What does an angel investor do?
Beyond writing a check, most angels offer introductions, advice, and sometimes hands-on help. Some are mostly passive. Others act like informal advisors, which is common among the angels at the top of this list.

7. Which is better, VC or angel investor?
Neither is better across the board. Angels usually write smaller checks earlier, move faster, and are more personally involved. VC firms invest larger amounts from pooled funds, usually later, with more structure and often a board seat. Many startups raise from both at different stages.

8. How do angel investors get paid?
Angels get paid when a company they backed is acquired or goes public and their equity turns into cash or stock. There's no loan to repay. If the startup fails, the angel loses their money. That's why exit rate is a useful way to look at an angel's record.

9. What returns do angel investors expect?
Returns vary widely, and most individual angel investments don't return the money put in. Angel investing tends to be driven by a small number of big wins that make up for the losses. That's why angels care so much about how often their companies reach an exit at all.

10. Who is the most successful angel investor?
It depends on the measure. Among active U.S. angels, Marc Andreessen tops this list at 74%, with 32 exits across 43 companies. By total exits, Ron Conway (63) and David Tisch (53) lead.

11. Who is the most famous angel investor?
Fame and exit rate don't line up well. Tim Ferriss, Gary Vaynerchuk and Chamath Palihapitiya are among the most famous angel investors, but none of them are in the top 10 by exit rate.

12. Who are the top 10 angel investors?
By exit rate among active U.S. angels, the top 10 are Marc Andreessen, Keith Rabois, Ali Partovi, Ron Conway, David Tisch, Dave Morin, Mark Goines, Bill Lee, Troy Carter and Mitch Kapor. If you searched for the top 10 angel investors in the world, note that our data covers U.S.-based angels only.

13. Is Mark Zuckerberg an angel investor?
Mark Zuckerberg has made a small number of personal investments outside Meta, but investing isn't a major part of what he does, unlike the angels on this list, all of whom have made 25 or more investments.

Conclusion

This data pushes back on a common assumption. The most active and most visible investors aren't always the ones whose companies reach an exit.

The strongest performers tend to balance volume with selectivity. They back enough companies to show a real pattern, and they stay disciplined as they grow.

If you're building your investor list, start with track record, not fame.

Building something in enterprise, healthcare or fintech? Tell us what you're building.

Looking for the next stage of funding? See Beta Boom's top pre-seed funds ranking or the top startup accelerators by exit rate.