So long, and thanks for all the billions: Saverin kisses off Zuckerberg

Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin hasn’t seen the best publicity lately following the renunciation of his U.S. citizenship, but he took the time last night to congratulate Mark Zuckerberg on his impressive run.

“On the eve of the Facebook public float, 8 plus year in the making, I as co-founder wanted to look back and cherish Facebook’s early beginning,” Saverin wrote on his Facebook page. “Congrats to everyone involved in the project from day one till today, and I especially wanted to congratulate Mark Zukerberg [sic] on keeping tremendous stead-fast focus, however hard that was, on making the world a more open and connected place.”

Of course, Saverin is set to make a mint on Facebook’s public offering, so perhaps he’s just viewing his contentious relationship with Zuckberger with rose-colored glasses. Saverin owns 4 percent of the company, and after trading begins this morning his stake could be worth around $4 billion.

After co-founding The Facebook at Harvard and serving as the young company’s chief financial officer, Saverin was eventually pushed out over conflicts with Zuckerberg. The rise and fall of their relationship served as the dramatic crux of Aaron Sorkin’s “The Social Network” movie. Saverin called the film “more art than documentary” this week in an interview with the New York Times.

Via the LA Times; Photo via the National University of Singapore