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Craig Newmark

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Craig Newmark
Born (1952-12-06) December 6, 1952 (age 71)
Morristown, New Jersey, United States
Alma materCase Western Reserve University
OccupationComputer programmer
Known forFounder of the website Craigslist
SpouseEileen Whelpley (m. 2012)

Craig Alexander Newmark (born December 6, 1952) is an American Internet entrepreneur best known for being the founder of the San Francisco-based international website Craigslist.

Early life

Newmark was born in Morristown, New Jersey, the son of Joyce and Lee Newmark.[2] He attended a Jewish religious school.[3] His father, an insurance salesman, died when he was thirteen and his mother struggled financially,[3] moving Craig and his brother Jeff into an apartment.[2] In 1971, he graduated from Morristown High School[2] and thanks to scholarships,[3] attended college at Case Western Reserve University, where he received a bachelor of science degree in 1975 and a master of science degree in 1977.[4]

Career

Newmark in 2014

After college, Newmark worked at IBM for 17 years as a programmer, living in New Jersey, Boca Raton, Florida and Detroit. In 1993, he moved to San Francisco to work for Charles Schwab, where he was introduced to the Internet—which at that time was still commercial-free.[2] He developed Craigslist as a free marketplace where people could come together – without charge – and exchange information. It has been described as an "internet commune."[2]

Newmark remains active at Craigslist in customer service, dealing mostly with spammers and scammers.[5] He also operates Craigconnects, a site that publicizes charitable organizations.[6]

Personal life

Newmark resides in San Francisco's Cole Valley. He describes himself as a non-practicing, secular Jew,[3] joking that his rabbi is the late singer Leonard Cohen.[3] Newmark married Eileen Whelpley in December 2012.[7]

Forbes featured Newmark in its "Billionaires In The Making" list in 2010, estimating his net worth at $400 million.[1] Newmark has donated to the presidential campaign of Democratic Senator and current United States Secretary of State John Kerry.[2] He also supports President Barack Obama.[8] In 2006 he donated $10,000 to a non-profit group, NewAssignment.Net, which planned to combine the work of amateurs and professionals to produce investigative stories on the Internet.[9] Before the 2016 US Election, Newmark donated to grassroots organizations in 15 states that he identified and vetted using a collaborative called Movement 2016, which he endorsed in a September 2016 blog post.[10]

In 2009, Newmark wrote a blog post contemplating whether or not he had Asperger's Syndrome.[11] While Newmark stated that the symptoms of Asperger's seemed "uncomfortably familiar", he has never said that he has had an official diagnosis. His one blog post, however, has led many writers to state that he is on the spectrum.

References

  1. ^ a b "Billionaires In The Making – Craig Newmark". Forbes.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Morristown Daily Record: "Web guru hails from Morristown" June 26, 2004
  3. ^ a b c d e Something Jewish: "Craig Newmark interview" by Leslie Bunder December 11, 2005
  4. ^ "Case Western Reserve University selects honorary doctorates awardees". Case Western Reserve University. March 25, 2008
  5. ^ "The Josh Kornbluth Show: Craig Newmark" (SWF). KQED-TV / Google. October 17, 2005. pp. 27 minute runtime. Retrieved February 8, 2007.
  6. ^ Mitroff, Sarah (July 16, 2012). "Craig Newmark Sits at the Top and Bottom of Craigslist". Wired. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  7. ^ Drowned in a tsunami of Frappuccinos. SFGate (2012-12-27). Retrieved on 2013-08-27.
  8. ^ "Craig Newmark, Tech Genius, Is an Obama Man". Reagan, Gillian. October 29, 2008. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  9. ^ Usborne, Ryan (November 23, 2005). "Entrepreneur taps mistrust of media for new venture". The Independent. Retrieved February 8, 2006.
  10. ^ "Does Your Neighbor Have the Right to Vote? And Other Questions This Election Cycle". craigconnects. September 12, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  11. ^ Newmark, Craig. "My nerd thing and Asperger's Syndrome." Craigconnects blog. 2009-01-06. Retrieved from http://craigconnects.org/2009/01/my-nerd-thing-and-aspergers-syndrome.html

Further reading

Wikiquote has quotations related to Craig Newmark.
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