Craigslist Founder Gives Away $450M From Sunday School Lesson

The founder of Craigslist is giving away nearly his entire fortune because of something his Sunday school teachers told him when he was a child.

Craig Newmark, 73, signed the Giving Pledge in 2025, committing to donate most of the $1.3 billion he built from the popular classifieds website. He credits Mr. and Mrs. Levin, his childhood Sunday school teachers, for planting the seeds of generosity decades ago.

"I learned early on in Sunday school to know when enough is enough," Newmark wrote in his pledge letter. "Also, I should treat people like I want to be treated."

Those simple lessons stuck. Newmark started Craigslist in 1995 as an email list to share tech events with friends in San Francisco. The bare-bones site went on to revolutionize online classifieds while staying mostly free and generating hundreds of millions in annual revenue.

But Newmark kept his operation lean and turned down billions in investor money. He estimates he said no to around $11 billion from bankers and venture capitalists who wanted to monetize the site. "I still made plenty after that," he said.

Now he's putting that wealth to work. Newmark has already donated $450 million to charity, with another $37 million committed. His focus areas include military families, veterans, cybersecurity, fighting scams and disinformation, and election security.

And in a characteristically quirky move, he also supports pigeon rescue. "I love birds, have a sense of humor, and I suspect that pigeons may become our replacement species," he told the Associated Press. His favorite neighborhood pigeon, Ghostface Killah, has earned a spot in a painting on his home mantle.

Why This Inspires

Newmark's approach to wealth stands out in a world where some billionaires use philanthropy to boost their business interests. His giving stems from genuine childhood values about helping repair the world, not from strategic advantage.

He's keeping only a small portion for his family and giving away the rest. "I don't regard this decision as altruistic," he explained. "It has to do with the way my moral compass was defined so very long ago."

The Giving Pledge, started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett in 2010, now includes more than 250 wealthy individuals and families representing about $600 billion. While critics note that some signers haven't followed through, Newmark is walking the talk with nearly half a billion already donated.

"I may not be the nerd you want, but I'm the nerd you got," Newmark wrote in his pledge letter, staying true to the humble kid who once lived across from a junkyard and learned that enough is enough.