1. Craig Alexander Newmark was born on December 6,1952 and is an American internet entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as the founder of the classifieds website Craigslist.
38 Facts About Craig Newmark
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Craig Newmark was born to Joyce and Lee Craig Newmark, a bookkeeper and insurance and meat salesman, who were Jewish, in 1952 in Morristown, New Jersey.
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Craig Newmark wore taped-together, black-rimmed glasses and a pocket protector.
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Craig Newmark earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in computing and information sciences from Case Western Reserve University in 1975 and 1977, respectively.
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Craig Newmark moved to San Francisco in 1993 after accepting a position with Charles Schwab.
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In 1995, Craig Newmark started emailing a list of upcoming events to a few friends to "cultivate a bit of community".
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Craig Newmark operated it as a hobby while continuing to work as a software engineer until 1999 when he incorporated Craigslist as a private for-profit company.
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In 2000, Craig Newmark stepped down as chief executive officer and handed off the role to Jim Buckmaster.
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Since then, Newmark has not been involved in the "day-to-day operations" of Craigslist.
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Craig Newmark serves on the board of several non-profit organizations such as CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, Girls Who Code, and Vets in Tech, among others.
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Craig Newmark holds roles on the advisory boards of 18 other non-profits.
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In 2022, Craig Newmark Philanthropies announced a $2.95 million grant to The Bob Woodruff Foundation's Got Your 6 Network.
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In 2023, Craig Newmark donated $1 million to Blue Star Families.
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In 2023, Craig Newmark Philanthropies donated $10 million to The Bob Woodruff Foundation's Got Your 6 Network at the 17th Annual Stand Up for Heroes fundraiser gala that will support comprehensive mental health services for veterans and their families.
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In 2023, Craig Newmark pledged an additional $100 million to organizations focused on veterans and military families.
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In January 2017, TechCrunch reported that Craig Newmark donated $500,000 to Wikipedia's attempt at "reducing harassment and vandalism on the site and improve the tools moderators use every day to keep the peace".
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In 2019, Craig Newmark donated $6 million to Consumer Reports to fund a Digital Lab focused on consumer privacy rights and cybersecurity.
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In 2021, Craig Newmark supported the Institute for Security and Technology's anti-ransomware program; a six-month study on misinformation and disinformation by the Aspen Institute's Commission on Information Disorder; the establishment of the Institute for Rebooting Social Media at Harvard University; the Reporters Without Borders Journalism Trust Initiative; and provided funding to expand PBS NewsHour's coverage of underrepresented communities.
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In 2022, Craig Newmark committed $50 million to the Cyber Civil Defense initiative.
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In 2023, Craig Newmark Philanthropies announced it would double its donations from $50 million to $100 million for fighting cyber threats.
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Craig Newmark is an avid supporter of Girls Who Code.
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In 2006, The Guardian reported that Craig Newmark was "readying his armoury of cash to invest in citizen journalism projects".
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Between 2016 and 2020, Craig Newmark donated $170 million to support journalism, combating harassment of journalists, cybersecurity, and election integrity, including $1 million each to ProPublica and the Poynter Institute in 2017.
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That year, Craig Newmark donated $1 million to Mother Jones to help the magazine combat fake news.
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In 2021, Craig Newmark donated $5 million to the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
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Craig Newmark gave $10 million to Columbia University to establish a center for journalism ethics and security, as well as a professorship.
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In 2021, Craig Newmark supported the establishment of the Institute for Rebooting Social Media at Harvard University; the Reporters Without Borders Journalism Trust Initiative; and provided funding to expand PBS NewsHour's coverage of underrepresented communities.
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In 2024, Craig Newmark Philanthropies announced a $10 million dollar launch gift to the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York with the aim of eventually making the school tuition-free for all of its students.
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The first toilet Craig Newmark sponsored was in the City of Jericho.
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Bloomberg News reported that Craig Newmark donated $10 million to charities focused on hunger issues in 2020, as well.
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Craig Newmark was among a group of prominent individuals who backed the Marshall Plan for Moms, which called on the Biden Administration to pass policies addressing paid family leave, training programs for women returning to work, and pay equity.
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Craig Newmark has given $100,000 to support wildlife rescue groups.
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Craig Newmark has said that he is involved in pigeon rescue.
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Craig Newmark married Eileen Whelpley in December 2012, and they enjoy birding together.
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Craig Newmark describes himself as a non-practicing, secular Jew, joking that his rabbi was the singer Leonard Cohen.
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In 2016, Craig Newmark joined with the progressive RAD Campaign and Lincoln Park Strategies to commission a poll examining user perceptions about social media conflicts during the 2016 election.
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Craig Newmark supported Barack Obama's election campaign in 2008, volunteering for him on the campaign trail as an "official technology surrogate" and praising his use of technology to promote grassroots democracy.