Marco Troper, the 19-year-old UC Berkeley freshman and son of former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, was found unresponsive in his college dorm this past week. Family members, including his grandmother Esther Wojcicki, told local media that Troper’s death was likely the result of a drug overdose.
“Tragedy hit my family yesterday,” Wojcicki wrote online. “My beloved grandson Marco Troper, age 19 passed away yesterday. Our family is devastated beyond comprehension. Marco was the most kind, loving, smart, fun and beautiful human being.”
Although the cause of death for Troper, who was in his second semester at UC Berkeley, has not been determined, Wojcicki told SFGate that she believes her grandson died from a drug overdose. The toxicology report could take up to 30 days.
Fentanyl Warning: ‘Drugs Today Are Not The Same As The Drugs Of Yesterday‘
“I think the most important thing is that teenagers and college students need to know that drugs today are not the same as the drugs of yesterday, they’re often laced with fentanyl.” Wojcicki told SF Gate. “So while they think they know what they are doing if they were to look at the statistics nationwide, they can see that more people die of drug overdoses than from the pandemic.”
Fentanyl is the leading cause of death among Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. Nationwide, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, more than 107,000 people died from a drug overdose in 2021 mainly due to fentanyl.
Influential Silicon Valley Family
Troper’s mother, Susan Wojcicki, who led YouTube as CEO, stepped down last year after 25 years with Google, which owns the video streaming service.
His maternal aunt, Anne Wojcicki, co-founded the genetic testing company 23andMe and is its CEO. Troper’s grandfather was renowned Stanford physicist Stanley Wojcicki, who died last year. Esther Wojcicki, referred to as the “Godmother of Silicon Valley,” founded the Palo Alto High School Media Arts Program. She wrote a book titled “How to Raise Successful People” that was published in 2019.
Photo: Susan Wojcicki, Marco Tropo and father David Troper from Esther Wojcicki Facebook