The “Craig” on Craigslist is none other than Craig Newmark. His website has been one of the most popular classified ad websites for over a decade now. Before becoming an internet entrepreneur, he worked as a programmer for companies like Charles Schwab, Bank of America, and IBM. As of 2022, Craig Newmark has a net worth of $800 million.
Early life
On December 6, 1952, Craig Alexander Newmark was born to a salesman named Lee and an accountant named Joyce. He grew up in Morristown, New Jersey, with his younger brother, Jeff.
When he was 13, his father died and the rest of the family moved to Jacob Ford Village. Next, he went to Morristown High School, where he joined the honor society, physique club, debate team, and school choir.
After graduating in 1971, he attended Case Western Reserve University to study computer science. The New Jersey native earned his bachelor’s degree in 1975 and his master’s degree two years later.
Early career
Craig’s first job was as a systems engineer for tech giant IBM. During his 17 years with the company, he was assigned to several cities, including Pittsburgh, Boca Raton and Detroit.
When Craig was hired by The Charles Schwab Corporation in 1993, he moved to San Francisco, California. It was during his time at the financial firm that he learned about the nature of the World Wide Web.
Around this time, he received occasional invitations to serve as a contract computer programmer for various companies, such as Sun Microsystems and Bank of America.
craigslist
In an effort to foster a sense of community, Craig Newmark began emailing a list of upcoming events to a select group of friends in 1995. During this time, he was still working for Charles Schwab.
More and more people wanted to be on his list, so he started Craigslist.org in 1996. Newmark continued to work as a programmer and ran it as a hobby until he decided to transform the site Web into a full-time business.
Although Craigslist earns hundreds of millions every year, it has never gone public. Craigslist is one of the most popular classifieds sites for jobs, services, housing, concerts, and more. It also helped Newmark become a notable philanthropist and board member of over 20 nonprofit organizations.
Net worth and earnings
Craigslist is undoubtedly Newmark’s biggest source of income. The website makes money by modifying user registration fees which vary between $3 and $75. Before the pandemic, Craigslist made more than $1 billion in annual revenue, according to CNBC.
Yahoo! Finance reported that the company earned $660 million in 2020, which is still a huge number. Although its original founder stepped down as CEO in 2000, he still works closely on Craigslist’s day-to-day operations. This is why Craig Newmark’s fortune is around $800 million.
Private life
The internet businessman married a woman named Eileen Whelpley in 2012. The couple own two homes. One is an apartment in Greenwich Village, New York, while the other is a historic property in Cole Valley, San Francisco.
