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Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.
- 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.
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.