There aren’t many university dropouts who end up running a $42 billion company—but Melanie Perkins isn’t most founders. The Filipino-Australian entrepreneur behind Canva went from selling handmade scarves as a teenager to becoming one of the world’s youngest self-made billionaires.

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Age: Born 1987 (age 38–39) ·
Net worth: $8.2 billion (Forbes, 2025) ·
Company valuation: $42 billion (private, Aug 2025) ·
Users: 165 million monthly active users ·
Co-founder & CEO: Canva ·
Education: University of Western Australia (dropped out)

Quick snapshot

1Early Life
2Career
3Personal Life
  • Married to Cliff Obrecht (Forbes)
  • Two children (born ~2020 and ~2022) (Forbes)
  • Resides in Sydney (Forbes)
4Net Worth
  • $8.2 billion (Forbes 2025) (Forbes)
  • Canva valued at $42 billion (Fortune)
  • One of Australia’s richest people (Forbes)

Eleven key facts at a glance, with one pattern: Perkins built a personal fortune that rivals traditional industrial billionaires while still in her thirties.

Label Value
Full name Melanie Perkins
Date of birth 1987
Place of birth Perth, Australia
Nationality Australian
Ethnicity Filipino-Australian
Education University of Western Australia (dropped out)
Occupation Technology entrepreneur
Known for Co-founder and CEO of Canva
Spouse Cliff Obrecht
Children Two
Net worth $8.2 billion (2025)

Is Canva owner Filipino?

Melanie Perkins’ ethnic background

  • Melanie Perkins is of Filipino and Australian descent. Her mother is Filipino, and her father is Australian (Women’s Activism NYC).
  • She identifies as Filipino-Australian and has spoken about her multicultural upbringing in Perth.

Her mother’s Filipino heritage

Perkins’ mother was born in the Philippines and later moved to Australia. According to a profile by Women’s Activism NYC (community archive), her mother is of Filipino descent, while her father is an Australian-born teacher. This mixed heritage makes Perkins part of a growing generation of multicultural tech leaders.

What is a half white half Filipino called?

The term “Mestizo” or “Filipino-Australian” is commonly used in the Philippines and internationally. Perkins herself is frequently described in media as Filipino-Australian, reflecting both sides of her ancestry.

Bottom line: Perkins is Filipino-Australian—her mother is Filipino, father Australian. She explicitly identifies with both cultures, and that mixed heritage has not been a barrier but a distinctive part of her public story.
Why this matters

For young Filipino-Australians seeing a fellow Mestizo lead a $42 billion company, the message is clear: heritage is an asset, not a limitation. Perkins’ success challenges the stereotype of who gets to be a tech billionaire.

How old was Melanie Perkins when she started Canva?

Early life and education

  • Perkins was born in 1987 in Perth, Australia (Forbes).
  • She attended the University of Western Australia but dropped out to pursue entrepreneurship (Forbes).

First startup: Fusion Books

  • At age 19, Perkins co-founded Fusion Books, an online yearbook publishing platform (Global Business Hall of Fame).
  • She later recalled that the idea for a simple drag-and-drop design tool came while teaching classmates to use complex design software (Guy Kawasaki interview).

Launch of Canva in 2013

  • Canva was founded in Sydney in 2013 by Perkins, Cliff Obrecht, and Cameron Adams (Forbes).
  • Perkins was 26 years old when Canva publicly launched.
Bottom line: Perkins was 26 when Canva launched in 2013—but she had already founded a successful startup at 19. What looked like overnight success was actually a decade of iterative work.
The catch

While the “26 at launch” figure is clean, the idea for Canva had been simmering since her university years. The real founding story starts earlier than 2013.

Does Melanie Perkins have kids?

Family life with Cliff Obrecht

Melanie Perkins is married to Cliff Obrecht, her co-founder. The couple met at university and have built both a company and a family together. They live in Sydney with their children.

Children and parenting

  • Perkins and Obrecht have two children. The first was born around 2020, the second around 2022 (reported in multiple profiles).
  • Perkins has kept details of her children private, but confirmed in interviews that she balances parenting with leading a $42 billion company.
Bottom line: Yes, Perkins has two young children with husband Cliff Obrecht. How she juggles a CEO role and family remains largely private, but the timing—first child in 2020, just as Canva hit profitability—reveals a carefully orchestrated life.

Why is Canva so rich?

Canva’s business model

  • Canva operates a freemium model: basic design tools are free, with premium subscriptions for advanced features (Fortune).
  • The platform now has 165 million monthly active users and has been used to create over 5 billion designs (Global Business Hall of Fame).

Valuation history

  • Canva reached unicorn status (billion-dollar valuation) in 2018 (Forbes).
  • By September 2021, the company was valued at $40 billion (Manila Bulletin).
  • As of August 2025, Canva’s private valuation stands at $42 billion (Fortune).

Revenue and profitability

  • Canva has been profitable since 2020 (Fortune).
  • Its revenue reportedly exceeds $1 billion annually, driven by a mix of individual subscriptions and enterprise teams.
Bottom line: Canva’s wealth comes from a simple insight: make design dead simple, give the basics away for free, and charge for premium features. With 165 million users and a $42 billion valuation, the model works.
The trade-off

Canva’s low barrier to entry means it competes with every free tool and professional software simultaneously. The challenge now is holding onto enterprise clients who may outgrow its feature set.

Is Melanie Perkins a billionaire?

Net worth details

  • Forbes lists Perkins’ net worth at $8.2 billion as of 2025 (Forbes).
  • This makes her one of the youngest self-made female billionaires in the world (Forbes).

Forbes billionaire list

  • Perkins has consistently appeared on Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list since 2020.
  • Her wealth is categorized as self-made in the software industry (Forbes).

Comparison with other tech founders

  • Perkins’ $8.2 billion net worth is smaller than tech icons like Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos, but she achieved it with a fraction of the startup capital.
  • Her husband and co-founder Cliff Obrecht is also a billionaire, with a comparable net worth (Fortune).
Bottom line: Yes, Perkins is a billionaire—$8.2 billion according to Forbes in 2025. But the real story is not the number; it’s that she reached that status without selling personal data or relying on ads.

Timeline: Melanie Perkins’ journey

  • – Born in Perth, Australia (Forbes)
  • – Started Fusion Books while at university (Global Business Hall of Fame)
  • – Launched Canva with Cliff Obrecht and Cameron Adams (Forbes)
  • – Canva reached unicorn status ($1 billion valuation) (Forbes)
  • – Canva became profitable; first child born (Fortune)
  • – Canva valued at $40 billion (Manila Bulletin)
  • – Canva valued at $42 billion; Perkins net worth $8.2 billion (Forbes)
What to watch

The eight-year gap between 2013 and 2021′ valuation spike is the critical period: that’s when Canva proved its freemium model could scale without burning cash.

Clarity: What we know and what we don’t

Confirmed facts

  • Melanie Perkins is co-founder and CEO of Canva (Forbes)
  • She is of Filipino and Australian descent (Women’s Activism NYC)
  • She is married to Cliff Obrecht (Forbes)
  • She has two children
  • Her net worth is $8.2 billion as of 2025 (Forbes)
  • Canva was founded in 2013 (Forbes)

What’s unclear

  • Exact date of birth (year known, day/month not publicly confirmed – Open Source CEO claims 13 May 1987, but not verified by mainstream sources)
  • Specific religious affiliation (not disclosed in any credible profile)
  • Precise personal investment portfolio beyond Canva shares

Voices: What others say

“We wanted to make design accessible to everyone.”

— Melanie Perkins in a Guy Kawasaki interview

Forbes labeled Perkins a “self-made source of wealth in software,” placing her alongside tech founders who built companies from scratch rather than inheriting.

— Forbes profile

“Perkins started her first business at age 14 selling handmade scarves in Perth—a hint of the entrepreneurial drive that would later build a $42 billion company.”

— Global Business Hall of Fame

A Fortune profile noted that in October 2022, Perkins was 35 years old and running a $26 billion design startup—a number that would nearly double in three years.

— Fortune

Summary

Melanie Perkins’ story is not just about a $42 billion valuation or an $8.2 billion net worth—it’s about proving that a university dropout with a mixed-race background can build a global tech company on her own terms. Canva’s freemium model has democratized design, but the pressure is now on: as competitors like Adobe copy the playbook, Perkins must keep innovating or risk being overtaken. For Australia’s startup ecosystem, the implication is clear: back founders with vision, not just credentials, or watch the next Perkins build elsewhere.

Additional sources

opensourceceo.com, facebook.com, smallbusinessbigmarketing.com, youtube.com, reddit.com

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Frequently asked questions

What is Melanie Perkins’ net worth?

Forbes estimates her net worth at $8.2 billion as of 2025, making her one of the youngest self-made female billionaires (Forbes).

How did Melanie Perkins start Canva?

She co-founded Canva in 2013 with Cliff Obrecht and Cameron Adams after previously launching Fusion Books at age 19 (Global Business Hall of Fame).

Who is Melanie Perkins’ husband?

She is married to Cliff Obrecht, her childhood friend and co-founder of Canva (Forbes).

What is Melanie Perkins’ educational background?

She attended the University of Western Australia but dropped out before completing her degree to pursue entrepreneurship (Forbes).

How old is Melanie Perkins?

Born in 1987, she is 38–39 years old as of 2025 (Forbes).

Where was Melanie Perkins born?

She was born in Perth, Western Australia (Forbes).

What is Canva’s current valuation?

Canva was valued at $42 billion as of August 2025, according to Fortune.

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