Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph on his definition of success: ‘staying married to the same woman’

Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph with his wife. (Image credit: Marc Randolph/LinkedIn)

For Netflix co-founder and former CEO Marc Randolph, success is not defined by the number of zeroes in his bank balance. Instead, Randolph knows that true success is having a good work-life balance. In a post shared yesterday on the social media platform X, the 66-year-old serial entrepreneur spoke about the importance of balancing personal and professional lives, the one hard rule he has followed for three decades and the thing of which he is most proud – his wife.

In his note, Marc Randolph explained that for over 30 years, he made sure never to schedule a meeting after 5 pm on a Tuesday. Tuesday evenings were reserved for his wife – the former CEO of Netflix had married Lorraine Kiernan Randolph in 1987. The couple has three children together. For Randolph, his strong marriage is part of his definition of success.

“I've worked hard, for my entire career, to keep my life balanced with my job. In my book, I write about my Tuesday date nights with my wife. For over thirty years, I had a hard cut-off on Tuesdays. Rain or shine, I left at exactly 5 pm and spent the evening with my best friend. We would go to a movie, have dinner, or just go window-shopping downtown together,” he wrote on X.

I’m Marc Randolph, co-founder of Netflix & 6 other companies.

This is my definition of success: pic.twitter.com/XSbTNRnFfK

— Marc Randolph (@mbrandolph) May 28, 2024

Randolph said that he did not entertain any last-minute questions or requests on Tuesday evenings. Every crisis was wrapped up by 5 pm so he could head back to his wife. “Those Tuesday nights kept me sane. And they put the rest of my work in perspective,” he explained.

The American entrepreneur said he never wanted to be the kind of person who had multiple marriages. In fact, the thing he is proudest of is not the seven companies he helped launch. He is proudest of the fact that he was able to start them while staying married to the same person.

“I resolved a long time ago to not be one of those entrepreneurs on their 7th startup and their 7th wife. In fact, the thing I'm most proud of in my life is not the companies I started, it's the fact that I was able to start them while staying married to the same woman,” he wrote.

The focus he put on his work-life balance also ensured that his children – he has three – were able to grow up knowing and liking him. And, of course, he was also able to pursue his other passions in life.

“That’s my definition of success,” Randolph concluded.