Family Tragedy
The sudden passing of 19-year-old Marco Troper, a freshman at UC Berkeley and son of former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, has sent shockwaves through the family and the local community. Marco was found unresponsive in his college dorm, a heartbreaking event that his grandmother Esther Wojcicki has suggested was likely the result of a drug overdose.
Susan Wojcicki expressed her grief online, describing Marco as a kind, loving, smart, fun, and beautiful human being. The family is enduring a level of devastation that is difficult to comprehend.
While the exact cause of Marco’s tragic death remains undetermined, his grandmother has indicated that she believes it may be linked to a drug overdose. Officials are awaiting the results of a toxicology report, a process that could take up to 30 days.
Urgent Fentanyl Warning
Wojcicki has also issued an urgent warning about the dangers of modern-day drugs, emphasizing that they are often laced with fentanyl. She stressed the need for awareness among teenagers and college students, cautioning that current statistics show more people are dying from drug overdoses than from the pandemic.
Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, has become a leading cause of death among Americans aged 18 to 45. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, over 107,000 people succumbed to drug overdoses in 2021, largely due to fentanyl.
Influential Silicon Valley Family
The Wojcicki family is renowned in Silicon Valley, with Susan Wojcicki having led YouTube as CEO before stepping down last year following a 25-year tenure with Google, the platform’s parent company.
Anne Wojcicki, Marco’s maternal aunt, is the co-founder and CEO of 23andMe, a prominent genetic testing company. Additionally, Marco’s grandfather, the late Stanley Wojcicki, was a distinguished physicist at Stanford University. Esther Wojcicki, often referred to as the “Godmother of Silicon Valley,” founded the Palo Alto High School Media Arts Program and authored the book “How to Raise Successful People” in 2019.
Photo: Susan Wojcicki, Marco Tropo, and father David Troper from Esther Wojcicki Facebook
