Meet Craig 'Craigslist' Newmark, the self-professed 'nerd' who built a $1 billion online listing empire and donated $20 million to a media company that's now facing a massive editorial exodus

• Craig Newmark is the founder of classified ads website Craigslist. Newmark started the site as an email newsletter called "San Francisco Events."
• Newmark only led the company for five years — he stepped down as CEO in 2000 and has dedicated his time to philanthropy ever since.
• Most recently, tech publication The Markup — which Newmark helped raise $22 million for — made headlines for its staff exodus on Tuesday.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Craig Newmark hasn't worked at Craigslist for nearly twenty years.

Instead, the billionaire founder — who started his site in 1995 — dedicates his time to philanthropy. Despite criticism for his site's negative impact on print newspapers, Newmark is a dedicated supporter of journalism, donating millions to publications such as ProPublica and the Poynter Institute. 

He also donated $20 million to a forthcoming tech publication, The Markup, which made headlines on Tuesday for its staff exodus following the departure of its editor-in-chief, Julia Angwin. The nonprofit publication was set to investigate tech companies and was supposed to officially launch in July.

Read more: A yet-to-launch tech news site backed by Craigslist's founder is facing a staff exodus after its renowned editor-in-chief was forced out

After a long career with IBM, Newmark started Craigslist — originally an email newsletter called "San Francisco Events"— in Silicon Valley. In a 2018 interview with Business Insider's Jim Edwards, Newmark talked about his decision to not take the VC route and also referred to himself as an "old-fashioned" nerd.

Keep reading for a look at Craig Newmark's life and career, from his start at IBM to his recent philanthropy focus.

SEE ALSO: Craigslist founder Craig Newmark says there's a forgotten weapon in the online information war — and he's putting his money where his mouth is

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Founder of online ads site Craigslist, Craig Newmark has, according to Forbes, a net worth of $1.6 billion. He stepped back from the company in 2000, and now focuses on philanthropy.

Source: Forbes, Craig Newmark Philanthropies

Newmark was born in Morristown, New Jersey in 1952 ...

Source: Business Insider, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, Gizmodo

... and later attended school at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Newmark originally planned on working as a quantum physicist but studied computer systems instead.

Source: Business Insider