Now that the Ashley Madison mess has literally claimed the life of one Ashley Madison user who killed himself on Thursday, folks are wondering more and more about the men behind the creation of the Ashley Madison website.
First up, Noel Biderman is the name of the CEO of Avid Life Media, Inc., the company behind Ashley Madison. It’s a firm that was reportedly only set up and organized in order to buy AshleyMadison.com from its original founders. As reporter Dianne Williamson writes for the Telegram , she joined Ashley Madison back in its 2008 heyday , prior to Biderman likely enjoying a net worth that Noel reportedly enjoys at $100 million.
“Ashley Madison founder and CEO Noel Biderman is too busy to talk with me these days, but in 2008 he was cheerfully unapologetic about creating a website designed to facilitate extramartial affairs. I suppose I’d be cheerful, too, if my net worth was estimated at $100 million, a sum largely amassed through his website.”
Prior to the hacking likely sending Biderman into hiding, Noel, Ashley Madison’s “king of infidelity,” was bragging about being so rich with his nefarious website that he was printing money, reports Huffington Post Canada .
“I am printing money , I don’t deny it. That’s what happens when you build a taboo-focused business.”
Biderman also spoke of his own 12-year-old marriage being infidelity free, as far as he knew. Issues about helping others cheat on their unassuming spouses were skirted with the deftness of a lawyer.
All of the focus on Biderman, however, makes some wonder whatever happened to Darren Morgenstern, a man who used to be the face of Ashley Madison. Darren is credited as founding Ashley Madison , as reported by CBS News , despite reports of Noel saying he came up with the idea on a plane. Either way, back in 2005, it was Darren being dubbed “the king of infidelity.” Also, the “Life is short. Have an affair.” slogan obviously hadn’t popped yet.
“When monogamy becomes monotony: That’s our trademark slogan. When people come to our Web site, we don’t want them to feel harshly judged, we don’t want them to feel ambushed. They’ve already made that conscious decision, already identified that maybe they are leading lives of quiet desperation. It isn’t making it easier [to commit adultery.] Affairs happen for lots of reasons. You might as well say motels make having an affair easier, escort agencies make affairs easier.”
Whereas Morgenstern sold Ashley Madison years ago, a reporter from Fusion was able to call founder Darren’s wife, reports New York Magazine . Morgenstern’s wife’s phone number was the only one listed on a file of leaked phone numbers that actually worked that the reporter called.
“After reviewing a file with Ashley Madison accounts that included names, sexual preferences, addresses and phone numbers, we called every number. Only one number worked, and it was for a woman who turned out to be the wife of Ashley Madison’s original founder, Darren Morgenstern, who sold the company to Avid Life Media years ago. Morgenstern said the spreadsheet dated back to the company’s early days and was essentially a list of dummy accounts that employees had used for ‘quality control and market research’ on the site.”
[Image via Ashley Madison]