It's been exactly one year since Facebook acquired mobile messaging company WhatsApp for $19 billion. 

The groundbreaking deal made both of the app's cofounders billionaires. 

Originally from Kiev, Ukraine, CEO Jan Koum moved with his family to the US when he was 16 years old. The family struggled and lived on welfare and food stamps.

With an estimated net worth of $6.8 billion, Koum has certainly come a long way since his food stamp days. 

In a somewhat symbolic move, Koum signed the paperwork for the Facebook acquisition on the door of his former welfare office. The office is located just a few blocks away from WhatsApp's headquarters in Mountain View.

Suddenly, as of February 2014, Koum was a billionaire.

The WhatsApp team celebrated the Facebook deal by popping bottles of Cristal champagne. Igor Solomennikov, one of WhatsApp's first employees, posted this photo to Instagram, though he later took it down. A bottle of Cristal typically costs about $200.

Source: Business Insider

The James Beard Foundation just released the semifinalists for its 2015 restaurant and chef awards, to be announced May 4.

One of the most coveted awards given by the culinary association is for "best new restaurant," given to a restaurant opened within the calendar year "that already displays excellence in food, beverage, and service, and that is likely to make a significant impact in years to come."

The 25 semifinalists were selected from more than 38,000 entries by a panel of top food critics. Given that thousands of restaurants open in the US each year, these 25 are truly the best of the best. They are listed in alphabetical order.

42 Grams, Chicago

(Left) House tofu w/ bamboo rice shoyu koji and crispy seasoned konbu - (right) passion fruit green tea steamed eggplant, miso, dulse seaweed, sprouted hericot shoot

A photo posted by 42 Grams (@42_grams) on Jan 24, 2015 at 3:04pm PST

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Abe Fisher, Philadelphia

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Alden & Harlow, Cambridge, MA

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The iPhone's default keyboard is great, but thanks to iOS 8 you can now swap it out for a third-party keyboard that does something a little different.

We've collected the 10 best keyboard apps for you to choose from. Whether you're looking to type faster or send GIFs and stickers to your friends, you're bound to find something that fits your communication style.

SwiftKey learns from your writing style.

SwiftKey is smart keyboard that's designed to learn how you type in order to speed things along. The autocorrect feature gets increasingly accurate over time, and it does a good job at predicting what words you're typing before you've finished tapping. If you want to slide between letters, you can also turn on SwiftKey Flow.

Price:Free

Fill in forms faster with TextExpander 3.

TextExpander 3 turns your shorthand phrases like "tyvm" into "thank you very much." You can set up shorthand letter combinations for quickly filling in your email, salutations, or even customized notes for situations when you need to fire off a quick response.

Price:$4.99

Send GIFs to your friends in a flash with GIF keyboard.

GIF keyboard makes it easy to message your friend funny GIFs. You can browse its library of millions of GIFs with sections devoted to reactions like #Want or #DealWithIt, or search by using a specific keyword like "Harry Potter." The best part, however, is that the GIFs display inline within iMessage.

Price:Free

With the glut of advertising targeted at consumers every day, marketers often attempt to be controversial — it can benefit in earning attention and buzz, but risks alienating or offending some viewers.

Each year the UK's advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), reveals which ads sparked the most complaints. This year's list is a mixed bunch, featuring well-known supermarkets, a bookmaker/troublemaker, and a charity, among other brands.

Not all were investigated on the grounds of offense — the majority of complaints the ASA receives are in relation to misleading claims made by the advertiser. If some of the complaint numbers seem a little low, that's because the ASA recently began to place a hold on taking incoming complaints once it has identified a big, controversial issue.

10. Passport-UK.co.uk (177 complaints) — The passport renewal services company misleadingly implied it was a government website, and its terms and conditions were not clearly visible.

9. Flora Buttery (183 complaints) — Viewers complained this TV and YouTube ad was offensive and unsuitable for children because it depicted two children walking in on their parents "wrestling." The ASA did not uphold the complaints, saying it was unlikely to cause undue fear or distress.

8. UK-Passport.net (188 complaints) — Another "copycat" government website.

In an outpouring on Thursday, leading thinkers, writers, and fans reacted to an essay published in The New York Times by neurologist and bestselling author Oliver Sacks.

Sacks, 81, whose lifelong work has explored the essence of what it means to be alive, wrote an op-ed titled "My Own Life," in which he revealed that he's dying of liver cancer:

I cannot pretend I am without fear. But my predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved; I have been given much and I have given something in return; I have read and traveled and thought and written. I have had an intercourse with the world, the special intercourse of writers and readers.

Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.

Sacks, a professor of neurology at the NYU School of Medicine and the author of dozens of books and essays, has been described by The Times as a "poet laureate of contemporary medicine," though in the eyes of some critics, he is more artist than scientist.

Sacks' breakthrough book, "Awakenings," drew portraits of his patients as they emerged from a deep, postencephalitic haze. It was adapted into the 1990 movie by the same name starring Robin Williams as Sacks. It was also the inspiration for a play, "A Kind of Alaska," by Nobel Prize winner Harold Pinter. 

As seen through Sacks's writing, his patients' disorders often revealed as much about the human condition as the human brain.

Here are some of the reactions to the news Thursday:

SEE ALSO: Neurologist writes beautiful essay about learning he's about to die

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: NASA has released images of the other side of the Moon that we've never seen before

The 87th annual Academy Awards are Sunday.

After the Oscar statuettes are handed out, don't feel bad for the losers. They'll get to go home with a gift bag worth $167,586.76.

For the past 13 years, Distinctive Assets has put together the "Everyone Wins at the Oscars Nominee Gift Bag."

21 gift bags will go out to the host and losing nominees in five categories including best actor, best actress, best supporting actor, best supporting actress, and best director.

This year's swag bag is the most expensive ever, costing nearly more than double of last year's record-breaking $85,000 Oscar bag.

In addition to lip gloss and lollipops, there are plenty of luxury items in this year's gift bag ranging from a $12,500 camping trip to unlimited Audi car rentals for a year valued at $20,000.

A $5.49 bottle of Dove Dry Spray Antiperspirant and another bottle of Dove Men+Care antiperspirant.

$36 non-sticky, Vegan friendly lip gloss from Flickable.

Visit their website here.

A $68 6-pack of herbal tea based lollipops from Dosha Pops that will come in a 24K edible gold leaf assortment.

Check out their website here.

Mac owners don't just like their computers; they love them.

There are plenty of ways to show that love: stickers, extensions, accessories, and more.

We're rounded up the best of the best from Product Hunt's Mac Lovers collection for your discovery and enjoyment.

Noizio is an ambient sound extension for your menu bar. It's great for drowning out distractions. You can download it for free on Noizio's website. (Link below this slide.)

Noizio

Duet Display lets you connect your iPad to your Mac and use it as a secondary display. It's $15.99 in the App Store.

Duet Display

Mailbox for Mac will help you blaze through your email. It's available for free (and in beta) on Mailbox's website.

Mailbox for Mac

Here they are: the most important charts in the world.

The last time we ran this feature, the investing world was a different place.

The US dollar has continued its rally.

The ECB announced QE.

And now Greece is back at the center of the conversation in global financial markets.

In the early part of the year, Wall Street also has an eye towards Europe, towards Asia, and the US consumer, who has shown increasing confidence as payroll gains have remained solid and the price of gas has tumbled. 

Other strategists have looked at the catalyst for gas price declines — the drop in oil prices — and asked where we go from here, and if OPEC is still really in control. 

But we'll let the charts do the talking. 

Michael Feroli, JPMorgan

Aswath Damodaran, Stern School of Business

Josh Brown and Michael Batnick, Ritholtz Wealth Management

This week, everyone in Silicon Valley is once again going to be talking about Ellen Pao, the partner who in 2012 dropped bombshell sexual discrimination allegations against her employer, famed venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

On Monday, the case will finally go to court, beginning with a jury selection. Pao is seeking $16 million from her former firm. Kleiner Perkins believes Pao is being driven to sue by family financial troubles. (Her husband's hedge fund went bankrupt.)

It's also provoked a much larger discussion about whether Silicon Valley is a meritocracy — or just an old-fashioned boy's club driven by personal connections.

Who's involved in the scandal that set off a world-wide discussion about gender discrimination in Silicon Valley?

Some are named in Pao's lawsuit. Some aren't. But all have been swept up by the lawsuit's broader impact.

Ellen Pao was in a relationship with another partner who was married. Then she broke it off. She says he cut her out of business after that.

Pao, who graduated from Princeton with a degree in electrical engineering and Harvard with a JD and an MBA, worked at Microsoft, Tellme Networks, Danger Research, and BEA. She joined Kleiner Perkins in 2005 as John Doerr's chief of staff and a junior partner with the firm.

In 2006, according to her complaint, she had a brief sexual relationship with another partner, Ajit Nazre, who had allegedly repeatedly propositioned her. After she broke it off, Pao alleged that Nazre retaliated against her by cutting her out of meetings and email threads.

Kleiner Perkins alleges that the relationship was 100% consensual, but there was a bad breakup. Its trial document shows texts where Pao realizes Nazre is still married and hasn't left his wife, and gets upset.

Pao is now interim CEO of Reddit.

Pao says she complained to her boss, John Doerr, but he ignored her. He says: "False."

Doerr, Kleiner Perkins' most famed investor, backed Netscape, Amazon.com, and Google. But his push into cleantech hasn't gone nearly as well.

Doerr, according to Pao's lawsuit, mishandled her complaints. Pao, who started at Kleiner as Doerr's chief of staff, said she told Doerr about male partners' behavior on several occasions between 2007 and 2011. Kleiner Perkins insists Doerr was a supportive mentor of Pao's.

After Pao's lawsuit became public, Doerr issued a strongly worded statement, saying the firm had conducted an internal investigation and found her charges "false."

Pao's husband has filed several lawsuits.

Alphonse "Buddy" Fletcher Jr. is a controversial hedge-fund manager whose own legal history has fascinated watchers of the case. Lawyers we've spoken to say Kleiner's counsel would have a tough time bringing Fletcher's past up in court. Nevertheless, it's being talked about.

Fletcher sued his employer, brokerage Kidder Peabody, for discrimination and won $1.3 million in 1991. He's embroiled in a dispute with the famous Dakota co-op apartment, where he owns four units (he wanted to buy a fifth, and the co-op's board denied him).

Two men working for Fletcher as contractors sued Fletcher for sexual harassment. Both reached confidential settlements.

Before marrying Pao, Fletcher lived with a man. He received an award from the Harvard Gay & Lesbian Caucus in 2005 for his efforts in philanthropy and civil rights. 

Fletcher and Pao are both members of the Aspen Institute's 2007 class of Crown Fellows, a prestigious business leadership award. According to a source, that's where he met Pao. Crown Fellows spend 24 days together in seminars which stretch over two years. Pao and Fletcher married in 2007.

In April, a judge ordered one of Fletcher's hedge funds liquidated, saying it was insolvent.

Katia Elizarova is a Russian supermodel and actress living in London. She has a pretty incredible life.

She was in Italian Vogue, shot by the world famous photographer Mario Testino, and modelled for Victoria's Secret.

She also happens to be starring in the upcoming movie "Our Kind of Traitor" with Ewan McGregor and Stellan Skarsgard.

Did you know she also studied law at university?

The life of a jet setting fashionista means that there is no a-typical day but in between photoshoots, casting calls and starring in movies, she says she always has time for friends and cake.

So, as an exclusive for Business Insider, Katia captured on camera, what it is like to walk in her shoes for one day this week.

Katia's "mornings" can start sometimes start in the middle of the night. At 4 a.m. she was in Tel Aviv for a photoshoot.

Before catching a flight back to London, she usually gets a quick look at her untouched pictures.

She often has to cut her time very fine to make her way to the airport.

Just two years ago, Ian Bremmer, the head of Eurasia Group, said political risk in the developed world was "overstated."

Today, things are a bit different.

"Geopolitics is back,"Bremmer and Cliff Kupchan write in Eurasia Group's annual list of the top risks. "As 2015 begins, political conflict among the world's great powers is in play more than at any time since the end of the Cold War."

Russia, China, the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL), and the emerging markets are major risks in the coming year, but the biggest one is Europe because of increased political instability, according to Bremmer and Kupchan.

We've put together Bremmer and Kupchan's top 10 risks for 2015, along with key explanations and — bonus — a list of red herrings.

1. The politics of Europe

"Anxiety is again on the rise over Europe's economics, but there is no sense of crisis to force political leaders to work together," Bremmer writes.

Additionally, anti-EU political parties are becoming more popular, while some governments are increasingly growing to resent Germany's dominant influence.

On top of all that, "Russia and ISIS will add to Europe's security worries," Bremmer writes.

Source: Eurasia Group

2. Russia

Although sanctions and lower oil prices have hurt Russia, they haven't pushed Russian President Vladimir Putin to change course in Ukraine. 

As Russia's economy worsens, Putin's popularity will depend on his willingness to confront the West — which makes Western companies and investors "likely targets — on the ground and in cyberspace," Bremmer says.

Source: Eurasia Group

3. The effects of China slowdown

China's President Xi Jinping is shifting the country into a consumer-driven economy, which requires a shift toward lower levels of growth.

The continuing slowdown will most likely "have little impact inside the country," Bremmer writes, but "that's cold comfort for the expanding list of economics that depend on booming trade with a commodity-hungry China."

Source: Eurasia Group

Business and sports are a lot alike. They're demanding, competitive, and require a team-first mentality.

That's why so many professional athletes have traded in their rackets, cleats, and jerseys for a career in business.

Here are eight athletes who brought their competitive drive and get-it-done mindset to the world of business, and learned how to win on a different kind of turf.

Venus Williams is the founder and CEO of two companies

This tennis ace couldn't wait for retirement to start her own company, and the seven-time Grand Slam singles champ now has an equally impressive business résumé as she does an athletic one.

She is the founder and CEO of the clothing line, EleVen, and interior design company, V Starr Interiors. She told Forbes magazine, "I think as an athlete you're always overcoming all kinds of challenges. That's the name of sport — it's a challenge. So definitely applying those lessons of perseverance and learning from mistakes and setting goals has definitely helped me in business."

Dallas Cowboy's quarterback Roger Staubach built a real estate firm

The Hall of Fame quarterback who led the Dallas Cowboys to two Super Bowl victories turned to real estate after retiring his football helmet and pads. He worked for real estate titan Henry Miller Jr. for six years before building his own commercial real estate firm, The Staubach Company. The firm began with five employees, expanded exponentially under Staubach's leadership, and eventually sold for $613 million in 2008.

John Elway owns two steakhouses and an Arena Football League team

The legendary Denver Broncos quarterback, and two-time Super Bowl champion, made a splash in the world of business after hanging up his blue and orange No. 7 jersey. Since retiring, he has been involved in several business ventures, most notably owning two "Elway's" steakhouses, five auto dealerships, and an Arena Football League team, the Colorado Crush.

Two years ago, Guillaume Dutilh and Jenna Spesard realized they didn't want to spend another day chasing careers they didn't love.

The adventure junkies' love for writing, photography, and the great outdoors led them to quit their jobs and pursue travel journalism — opting for life as cross-country nomads.

They ditched their homes in Los Angeles and built a tiny house on wheels that now serves as their permanent abode.

Five months into their journey, the couple, along with their dog, Salies, have racked up 10,000 miles and visited 25 states. They document their experience on their blog, Tiny House Giant Journey, and on their YouTube channel.

Dutilh and Spesard shared some memories and photos from their micro-living journey with us.

Meet Guillaume Dutilh and Jenna Spesard. For the past five months, the two have lived in a mobile tiny house of their own making and traveled through 25 states.

They've towed their 125-square-foot home from California to New York, through eastern Canada, and from Maine to Florida, documenting the journey on their blog, Tiny House Giant Journey.

Two years ago, Dutilh was an engineer for a motorcycle manufacturer, and Spesard was an executive assistant for a movie studio. They didn't like their jobs, but the work paid the rent.

There's a chunk of land off the coast of Sao Paolo, Brazil that has the highest concentration of venomous snakes in the world.

It's called Ilha da Queimada Grande, better known as "Snake Island," and it's home to 2,000 golden lancehead vipers (Bothrops insularis).

These snakes are among the most venomous in the world. Even if you get a dose of anti venom right after you're bitten, you're probably still going to die.

Local fisherman in Sao Paolo tell tales of people who have ventured onto the island in search of food and other resources, and never returned. Some believe that pirates brought the deadly snakes there to protect a trove of golden galleons.

Whether there's truth to local legend or not, the Brazilian navy closed the island to the public in the 1920s. Now the only time anyone can legally set foot on the island is an annual trek by trained navy personnel to tune up the automated lighthouse on the island, and for research experiments conducted by a handful of specially trained scientists who are studying how the snakes' venom could be used in biopharmaceuticals. VICE’s editor-in-chief Rocco Castoro and senior producer Jackson Fager tagged along with the Brazilian navy's latest trip to the island.

You can watch the full VICE documentary, or tour the island through our slideshow.

Snake Island is home to 2,000 deadly golden lancehead vipers. The island is the only place this particular species exists.

SOURCE: VICE

The island is marked by the red pin here. It's about 100 miles off the coast of Brazil.

SOURCE: VICE

Since this is the only place in the world that the species exists, it's critically endangered. The species came into existence when the island split off from the mainland and the snakes on the island evolved differently than their mainland relatives.

SOURCE: VICE

Travel isn't cheap.

But it usually makes for an experience that exposes you to something new and leaves an impression for years after.

I was lucky enough to live in Zurich, Switzerland, for five years when I was younger. Because of its central location in Europe, Zurich made it easy to explore the rest of the continent.

The traveling that my family did while living abroad was definitely an investment, but it was a worthwhile investment. Those travels make up most of my favorite memories from those five years.

I've rounded up 15 places in Europe I think are must-sees. This is by no means a comprehensive list, just a starting point based on my personal experience.

Morcote is located in the Italian part of Switzerland on the shores of Lake Lugano, which makes for beautiful views. It has the best of both worlds: Italian charm and Swiss cleanliness.

Besides Amsterdam's obvious tourist draws — marijuana and the Red Light District — its canals are incredibly picturesque and are a great way to see the city. Take one of the many boat tours, sit back, relax, and enjoy.

The Church of Peace in Świdnica, Poland, is one of the three wooden Evangelical churches built in 1656 in Silesia, a region in Southwestern Poland. The outside looks more like a home than a church, so the magnificent interior is both shocking and stunning.

Source: Lonely Planet

Tim Cook is the most important person at Apple — everyone knows that.

But he's not the only important figure. Although Cook is tasked with running the company and making all of Apple's biggest decisions, tons of talented people have helped Apple become one of the most valuable technology company in the world.

Here are 15 of them.

Steve Zadesky oversees product design for the iPhone and iPod, and he may be running Apple's secret car project too.

Steve Zadesky, Apple's vice president of iPod and iPhone product design, has been at the company for 16 years.

Now, reports from The Wall Street Journal are suggesting Zadesky is in charge of another major undertaking at Apple: Project Titan. This is supposedly the company's secretive car project, and he's reportedly been given permission to assemble a team of 1,000 people to help him with the initiative. 

Jony Ive designs all of Apple's hit products.

Jony Ive is Apple's senior vice president of design, and he's responsible for designing gadgets such as the iPhone and the original iMac. He's the genius behind the precision and signature detail that Apple products have come to be known for.

He doesn't really appear on stage at Apple's events, but you may recognize him from some of Apple's most notable product videos, including one of its more recent ones for the Apple Watch. 

Jeff Williams is a big part of the reason Apple is able to make millions of iPhones.

Apple had a stellar quarter at the end of 2014, and much of that credit goes to Jeff Williams, the company's senior vice president of operations. 

Williams is in charge of Apple's supply chain, which means he is a large part of the reason Apple was even able to produce enough iPhone units to break records. This includes maintaining relationships with suppliers such as Foxconn and negotiating supplier contracts.

In six seasons of "Shark Tank," Kevin O'Leary has seen hundreds of presentations from entrepreneurs. One from season five, however, stands out as the most emotional, and he even credits the pitch as the reason why the show won an Emmy for Outstanding Structured Reality Program in 2014.

Johnny Georges of Arcadia, Florida, presented the Tree T-PEE, a water conservation device for farmers that he developed with his late father in 1984.

The Sharks were both shocked and moved by Georges' genuine desire to selflessly help other farmers with their livelihood, a mission he credits to his father.

Ultimately, guest investor John Paul DeJoria — the billionaire cofounder of John Paul Mitchell Systems and Patrón Tequila — decided that Georges was too good to pass up, and they made a deal. Before leaving the Tank, Georges explained the influence his father had on his life, and the tears started flowing for everyone in the room.

Here's a breakdown of the pitch.

Johnny Georges worked for his father Rick in the citrus and irrigation industries for over 20 years. In 1984, Georges and his dad developed a plastic, semi-conical device to place around tree roots to block frost and conserve water, and thus energy.

Georges asks for $150,000 in return for 20% of his company. His main goal for the company is to promote water conservation.

In 2009, the University of Florida discovered that trees with T-PEEs used 93% "less water, fertilizer, electricity, and fuel," Foodtank reports.

When the 87th Academy Awards air on Sunday, you’ll tune in to watch presenters tear open 24 little envelopes to deliver the night’s trophies.  

While we only get to see the outside of a golden envelope, presenters get to see much more than just a winner's name.

The envelope and inside nominee card were simply cream up until five years ago when the Academy hired Marc Friedland, CEO of Couture Communications, to liven up the stationery.

Since then, the winner's names are housed inside a golden envelope.

We've previously spoken with Friedland to find out more about the creation of the envelopes.

Three sets of 24 envelopes and 121 nominee cards have been made for this year’s Academy Awards.

Last year, four sets were made since it wasn't known first lady Michelle Obama would open the best picture envelope.

Here's how we'll see the envelope Oscar night.

And here are what this year's award envelopes will look like from presenters' points-of-view:

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Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The New Mercedes Driverless Car Even Has The Driver's Seat Facing Away From The Road

Award-winning photographer Peter Lik is selling his beautiful Maui mansion for an asking price of $19.8 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.

With it's unique three-hut formation, one-of-a-kind ocean views, and recent $3 million renovation overseen by Lik himself, the home is truly a sight to behold.

Several of Lik's works are included in the home's price. This is no small parting gift: Lik recently broke records with the sale of his work "Phantom," which stands now as the world's most expensive photograph, according to Forbes. 

The Journal says, according to Lik's office, the included photos are estimated to be worth $70,000.

Courtney Brown and Rob Shelton of Island Sotheby's International Realty has the listing.

Peter Lik's one-of-a-kind Maui mansion has just been listed for $19.8 million.

Nicknamed Aura, the house sits just yards above the crystal blue Honolua and Mokuleia Bays, which is a popular surfing spot.

It was built as a a modern take on a traditional surf hut, one that has been "expanded upon" using the "latest in sustainable architecture" according to the realtor.