Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg is dating again after her husband’s death. Page Six has learned she’s spending time with Activision video games multibillionaire Bobby Kotick.
The couple appeared in public together at a few Oscar events in Los Angeles over the weekend — at a dinner thrown by CAA honcho Bryan Lourd at his home, and also at the Vanity Fair Oscar party.
Friends said that while “Lean In” author Sandberg and Kotick have known each other for years, their romance is new.
One source told us, “Sheryl and Bobby have known each other for many years, through attending events like the Allen & Co. conference, but have only been dating for a few weeks. Things are very new.” The source added of Sandberg, “Everyone is happy for her, because she deserves to be happy, and Bobby is great.”
A second source said Sandberg, 46, and Kotick, 53, were “close friends” and “They’ve recently been spending more time together.”
Sandberg’s husband of 11 years, Dave Goldberg, died at age 47 in May last year in a hotel gym in Mexico. The Silicon Valley entrepreneur was found lying near a treadmill, and was at first believed to have suffered head trauma, but later was found to have passed away from heart-related causes.
Sandberg spoke movingly about losing her husband in Facebook posts and remembered him as “the love of my life” at his memorial.
Divorced Kotick, the president and CEO of Activision Blizzard, has been dubbed “king of the gamers” and, according to the Financial Times, “has a knack for minting blockbuster franchises that makes his friends in Hollywood jealous,” including “Call of Duty,” “Skylanders,” “World of Warcraft” and “Guitar Hero.”
He is worth $4 billion and is friends with Warren Buffett, Steve Wynn, Bob Iger and David Geffen.
A Facebook spokesperson and Kotick’s rep declined to comment.