They were doing just fine before, but the biggest of minority owners of Facebook are about to be catapulted into a far more elite bracket. As we ponder what they'll do with with new millions (nearly half a billion dollars for Reid Hoffman?), here's a look at what got them where they are today.Who he is: Reid Hoffman is probably best known to you and me not as an early-stage investor in Facebook, but as cofounder and Executive Chairman of LinkedIn--the social network for, you know, professional types (less FarmVille, more tiepins). He's considered one of the "PayPal mafia," thanks to his previous EVP status there. Demonstrating both tech-savviness and more ephemeral intellectual prowess, perhaps ideal for recognizing the value of Facebook in its early moments, Hoffman has a Bachelor of Science in Symbolic Systems and Cognitive science from Stanford, and a BA in philosophy earned at Oxford. He also personally invested in Zynga and joined its board of directors and co-owns its Six Degrees patent. There's no answer to the Quora question "What's it like working for Reid Hoffman?" but in recent chats with Fast Company we learned he's a fan of big data, he revealed that while busy he can be a "grab a cup of coffee" for a chat type of guy, and if you watch his 30SecondMBA video he seems a pretty affable chap.What's his connection with Facebook: He's credited with arranging to bring Peter Thiel aboard as the first investor, arranging the meeting with Zuckerberg. And he was so excited by the company he injected $40,000 of his own money.How much he's worth now: Guesstimated as north of $1.5 billion as of late 2011.What he may earn through IPO gains: His $40,000 investment seems to have netted him a 0.5% stake. In a possible $85 billion company that would lead to $425 million in value.What he might do with the money: Now a partner at Venture Capital firm Greylock, Hoffman would seem the type of person to use his money to help propel future world-changing companies to Facebook-like superstardom. For example, he's a key driver behind the "Silicon Valley Comes To The UK" program, because he's convinced he can nurture and inspire the "entrepreneurial spirit" he spots in Oxford, Cambridge, and London (though that probably disappoints innovative folk in Cardiff and Edinburgh somewhat).Read about others in the Facebook IPO Players Club:

Chris Hughes

Sean Parker

Peter Thiel 

Dustin MoskovitzJim Breyer[Image: Flickr user joi]
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