There're lots and lots of former startup founders currently working at Google. Andy Hertzfeld of Radius & General Magic. Joshua Schacter of del.icio.us. Brad Fitzpatrick of LiveJournal. Bunch of others whose employment and/or startups might not be known publicly. That doesn't even count the ones who end up at Google because it buys their companies.
It's not just famous people too: at least 2 or 3 folks I work with regularly are former startup founders, not including myself. Seems to be the new career path for bright aspiring programmers whose startups fail: graduate from college, start a company, fold up company, work for Google.
I would suppose that these ex-founders (especially the ones with some fame like Josh Schacter) belong to an uber-class minority within Google, where they are given more freedom and respect then the average Googler.
It's not just famous people too: at least 2 or 3 folks I work with regularly are former startup founders, not including myself. Seems to be the new career path for bright aspiring programmers whose startups fail: graduate from college, start a company, fold up company, work for Google.