Craig Newmark

Craig Newmark is an American internet entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as the founder of the classified advertisements website Craigslist. A former IBM programmer, he started the site in 1995 as an email distribution list for local events in San Francisco, which grew into a global online marketplace and community forum that profoundly disrupted traditional newspaper classifieds. Newmark's subsequent work has focused on philanthropy and advocacy, primarily through the Craig Newmark Philanthropies, supporting journalism, voter protection, and veterans' causes, while maintaining a famously modest public persona.

Early life and education

He was born in Morristown, New Jersey, and grew up in a middle-class family. His father, an insurance salesman, and his mother, a bookkeeper, encouraged his early interest in science and technology. Newmark attended Morristown High School before enrolling at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, where he earned both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in computer science. His academic work laid the foundation for his future career in the emerging field of information technology.

Career before Craigslist

After graduating, he began a long career as a computer programmer and systems engineer. His first major employer was IBM, where he worked for nearly seventeen years on various projects, including early operating system development and anti-virus software. In 1993, he relocated to San Francisco to take a position with Charles Schwab Corporation, working on their internal firewall security. This move to the heart of the dot-com boom exposed him to the burgeoning culture of the early World Wide Web.

Craigslist and its impact

In early 1995, he began sending friends an email list of local San Francisco arts and technology events, which he humorously called "Craig's List." The list quickly grew in popularity through word-of-mouth, evolving into a web-based service that expanded to include job postings and classified ads. By 1999, it had incorporated as Craigslist, expanding to other U.S. cities and eventually to countries worldwide. The site's simple design, largely free model, and community-moderated approach devastated the revenue of traditional newspaper classified sections, becoming a seminal case study in disruptive innovation. Despite its massive reach, Newmark stepped back from day-to-day management in 2000, with Jim Buckmaster becoming CEO, though he remained involved as a customer service representative and active board member.

Philanthropy and advocacy

Following the success of Craigslist, he shifted his primary focus to philanthropic giving and advocacy, establishing Craig Newmark Philanthropies. A major beneficiary has been the field of journalism, with significant donations to organizations like the Poynter Institute, the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and the News Literacy Project to combat misinformation and support local news. He has also been a prominent funder of nonpartisan voter protection efforts through groups like the Voter Protection Program and has supported military veterans and their families via donations to the Bob Woodruff Foundation and USO. In 2016, he founded the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.

Personal life

He is known for his unassuming lifestyle, often describing himself simply as a "nerd" and a customer service rep. Newmark resides in New York City and is an avid supporter of the San Francisco Giants and various science fiction fandoms. A self-described "geek philanthropist," he is active on the social media platform Twitter and frequently speaks on issues of trust and ethics in media and technology. He was awarded the Salute to Greatness Award from the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in 2021 for his philanthropic work.

Category:American internet entrepreneurs Category:American philanthropists Category:1952 births Category:Living people