Craig Newmark's Billion-Dollar Birthday Gift: Philanthropy Takes Center Stage
At 73, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark is ringing in his birthday by formalizing his long-standing commitment to philanthropy. The entrepreneur has signed the Giving Pledge, a campaign urging ultra-wealthy individuals to donate the majority of their net worth to charity.
Newmark's journey into philanthropy began after he stepped away from Craigslist in 2018. He shifted his focus towards giving back, steadily funneling his wealth to causes such as veteran support, cybersecurity, journalism, and even pigeon rescue. His decision to monetize Craigslist "as little as possible" – a strategy that involved charging for only a small set of posts – made him an estimated $11 billion, but he chose to give away the majority of it.
Newmark credits his Sunday School teachers and Leonard Cohen's lyrics with inspiring his pledge. He views this as a continuation of his original goal to minimize Craigslist's commercialization. By signing the Giving Pledge, Newmark joins over 250 wealthy philanthropists, including Mark Zuckerberg and Sam Altman.
In addition to supporting organizations focused on cybersecurity defense and veteran support, Newmark has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to journalism schools and independent newsrooms. The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York received a $20 million donation in 2018, with another $10 million pledged last year.
A self-proclaimed pigeon enthusiast, Newmark even donated $30,000 to Palomacy, a Northern California-based rescue organization, earlier this year. He and his wife, Eileen, have chronicled their favorite neighborhood pigeon's adventures on social media, which has since passed away but still holds a special place in Newmark's heart.
Looking ahead, Newmark is committed to expanding his work combating online scams. His campaign, PauseTake9, encourages people to take a nine-second pause before downloading or sharing information. He supports the Global Anti Scam Alliance and the Global Signal Exchange, both of which recently received significant donations from him.
Newmark emphasizes his dedication to this cause, stating that he's "quietly fighting scams for over 25 years" but now intends to get serious about it. With his pledge to philanthropy formalized, Newmark is marking a new chapter in his life dedicated to giving back and making a lasting impact on the world.
At 73, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark is ringing in his birthday by formalizing his long-standing commitment to philanthropy. The entrepreneur has signed the Giving Pledge, a campaign urging ultra-wealthy individuals to donate the majority of their net worth to charity.
Newmark's journey into philanthropy began after he stepped away from Craigslist in 2018. He shifted his focus towards giving back, steadily funneling his wealth to causes such as veteran support, cybersecurity, journalism, and even pigeon rescue. His decision to monetize Craigslist "as little as possible" – a strategy that involved charging for only a small set of posts – made him an estimated $11 billion, but he chose to give away the majority of it.
Newmark credits his Sunday School teachers and Leonard Cohen's lyrics with inspiring his pledge. He views this as a continuation of his original goal to minimize Craigslist's commercialization. By signing the Giving Pledge, Newmark joins over 250 wealthy philanthropists, including Mark Zuckerberg and Sam Altman.
In addition to supporting organizations focused on cybersecurity defense and veteran support, Newmark has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to journalism schools and independent newsrooms. The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York received a $20 million donation in 2018, with another $10 million pledged last year.
A self-proclaimed pigeon enthusiast, Newmark even donated $30,000 to Palomacy, a Northern California-based rescue organization, earlier this year. He and his wife, Eileen, have chronicled their favorite neighborhood pigeon's adventures on social media, which has since passed away but still holds a special place in Newmark's heart.
Looking ahead, Newmark is committed to expanding his work combating online scams. His campaign, PauseTake9, encourages people to take a nine-second pause before downloading or sharing information. He supports the Global Anti Scam Alliance and the Global Signal Exchange, both of which recently received significant donations from him.
Newmark emphasizes his dedication to this cause, stating that he's "quietly fighting scams for over 25 years" but now intends to get serious about it. With his pledge to philanthropy formalized, Newmark is marking a new chapter in his life dedicated to giving back and making a lasting impact on the world.
HE'S STILL GOT IT GOING ON AT 73 AND HE'S JUST GIVING AWAY HIS BILLION DOLLARS LIKE IT'S NOTHING! 
I MEAN, WHO DOESN'T LOVE A GOOD PIGEON RESCUE STORY?! 
SERIOUSLY THOUGH, HIS COMMITMENT TO PHILANTHROPY IS REALLY SOMETHING WE SHOULD ALL ASPIRE TO. HE'S NOT JUST GIVING AWAY MONEY, HE'S ALSO PASSIONATELY WORKING ON CAUSES THAT MEAN SOMETHING TO HIM! 
think its awesome that craig newmark is all about giving back at 73 
he already made like $11 billion from Craigslist but still chose to put most of it into good causes 
journalism schools, vet support, cybersecurity...he even donated to a pigeon rescue organization 
itll be interesting to see how he tackles online scams with PauseTake9 campaign 
i mean, yeah some ppl might say he should've done more with his money but honestly idc what he does with it as long as its for good 
i mean who else gets to donate billions to various causes and still manage to make time for pigeon rescue? 
seriously though his commitment to philanthropy is a huge inspiration to us all let's raise a virtual glass to craig newmark 
. I mean, 11 billion dollars is insane, but for him, it's not about the money, it's about making a difference in people's lives 
. he's basically a superhero for our digital world 
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. And let's be real, who doesn't love a good pigeon rescue story? 
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... I gotta say, I'm super inspired by this 73-year-old dude's commitment to philanthropy! It's amazing how one person can make such a huge difference. Plus, I love that he's still pushing for online scam prevention - we need more people taking action on that issue 
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. But seriously, who wouldn't want to support causes they're passionate about? I mean, I'd donate all my money too if someone else footed the bill 
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, Craig Newmark's birthday gift of $11 billion is pretty cool... but let me tell you, it's about time he made it official 
I mean, $30k for pigeon rescue? 
I'm curious to see how he'll take this new initiative and what kind of impact it can make. Maybe we'll finally get some decent anti-scam tech out there... 
. And let's not forget about those adorable pigeon rescues – who knew pigeons could be so inspiring? 
. It just goes to show that age isn't a barrier to making a positive impact on the world