Marc Benioff

Marc Benioff
Name	Marc Benioff
Caption	Benioff in 2019
Birth date	25 September 1964
Birth place	San Francisco, California, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Southern California
Occupation	Businessman, author, philanthropist
Known for	Co-founder, chairman and CEO of Salesforce
Spouse	Lynne Benioff
Net worth	$9.5 billion (2024 est.)

Marc Benioff is an American billionaire businessman, philanthropist, and author best known as the co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of the cloud-based software company Salesforce. A pioneer of the software as a service (SaaS) model, he has led Salesforce to become a dominant force in customer relationship management (CRM) and a major player in the broader enterprise software industry. Benioff is also noted for his advocacy of the stakeholder capitalism model through his "1-1-1" philanthropic model and his public activism on various social and environmental issues.

Early life and education

Marc Benioff was born in San Francisco and raised in the city's Bay Area community. His father, Russell Benioff, owned a chain of department stores, while his mother, Joelle Benioff, served on the city's Board of Supervisors. Demonstrating an early interest in technology, he sold his first software application, "How to Juggle," for $75 at the age of 15. Benioff attended USC, where he graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration while also working as a programmer for the university's Information Sciences Institute.

Career before Salesforce

After graduating, Benioff joined the technology giant Oracle Corporation in 1986. He quickly rose through the ranks, becoming the company's youngest vice president at the age of 26. During his 13-year tenure at Oracle, he held various roles in sales, marketing, and product development, working closely under the company's founder and CEO, Larry Ellison. This experience provided him with deep insights into the enterprise software market and the limitations of traditional, on-premise software models, which later inspired his vision for a cloud-based alternative.

Salesforce

Benioff left Oracle Corporation in 1999 to co-found Salesforce with former colleagues Parker Harris, Dave Moellenhoff, and Frank Dominguez. The company was founded on the disruptive idea of delivering enterprise software entirely over the internet via the software as a service model, eliminating the need for complex installations and maintenance. Under Benioff's leadership as chairman and CEO, Salesforce popularized the concept of customer relationship management in the cloud, growing from a startup into a Fortune 500 company and the world's leading CRM platform. He has overseen major strategic acquisitions, including Tableau Software, Slack Technologies, and MuleSoft, significantly expanding the company's portfolio into data visualization, workplace collaboration, and application programming interface management.

Philanthropy and activism

Benioff is a prominent philanthropist who pioneered the "1-1-1" model, where a company contributes 1% of its equity, 1% of its product, and 1% of its employees' time to charitable causes. This model is institutionalized through the Salesforce Foundation and has been adopted by thousands of other companies via the Pledge 1% movement. He and his wife, Lynne Benioff, have made significant personal donations to UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals and have actively supported causes related to public education, homelessness, and climate change. Benioff is also an outspoken advocate for corporate social responsibility, LGBTQ rights, and ethical artificial intelligence, often engaging in public debates on these issues.

Personal life

Marc Benioff is married to Lynne Benioff, a former documentary film producer and philanthropist. The couple resides in San Francisco and also owns property in Hawaii. They are known for their significant art collection, which includes works by Tamara de Lempicka and Diego Rivera. Benioff is a practitioner of transcendental meditation and has cited spiritual leaders like Paramahansa Yogananda as influences on his management philosophy and approach to conscious capitalism. He has authored several books, including *Behind the Cloud*.

Awards and recognition

Benioff has received numerous accolades for his business leadership and philanthropic work. He has been named one of the *Time 100 Most Influential People* and *Forbes*'s "World's Most Innovative Leaders." In 2019, he and his wife received the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy for their charitable contributions. Other honors include the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and recognition from the World Economic Forum, where he is a regular participant at the annual meeting in Davos. Salesforce under his leadership has consistently been ranked as one of the *Fortune* "100 Best Companies to Work For."

Category:American chief executives Category:American philanthropists Category:American technology company founders Category:Salesforce