Craig Alexander Newmark (born December 6, 1952) is an American internet entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as the founder of the classifieds website Craigslist.

Before founding Craigslist, he worked as a computer programmer for IBM, Bank of America, and Charles Schwab.

[8] Before establishing Craigslist, Newmark worked as a contract computer programmer for companies such as Bank of America, Sun Microsystems, and others.

[14] He operated it as a hobby while continuing to work as a software engineer until 1999 when he incorporated Craigslist as a private for-profit company.

[17] As of 2018, he continued to respond to Craigslist customer service inquiries, primarily dealing with spammers and scammers.

[1] Newmark serves on the board of several non-profit organizations such as CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, Girls Who Code, and Vets in Tech, among others.

[26] While consulting for the VA Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning Newmark dubbed himself "Nerd-in-Residence” while focusing his computer science skills on the Blue Button initiative, which is designed to make electronic health records, including family history, available to all veterans thereby accelerating the processing of claims, improving patient care, and saving lives.

[27] In 2022, Craig Newmark Philanthropies announced a $2.95 million grant to The Bob Woodruff Foundation's Got Your 6 Network.

[29] In 2023, Craig Newmark Philanthropies donated $10 million to The Bob Woodruff Foundation's Got Your 6 Network at the 17th Annual Stand Up for Heroes fundraiser gala that will support comprehensive mental health services for veterans and their families.

[31] In January 2017, TechCrunch reported that Newmark donated $500,000 to Wikipedia's attempt at "reducing harassment and vandalism on the site and improve the tools moderators use every day to keep the peace".

[45] In 2021, Newmark donated $5 million to the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.

[46] In 2021, Newmark supported the establishment of the Institute for Rebooting Social Media at Harvard University;[36] the Reporters Without Borders Journalism Trust Initiative;[37] and provided funding to expand PBS NewsHour's coverage of underrepresented communities.

[49][13] In 2015, he donated $10,000 to Grow It Green Morristown for the installation of a composting toilet at the Early Street Community Garden.

[51] Newmark was among a group of prominent individuals who backed the Marshall Plan for Moms, which called on the Biden Administration to pass policies addressing paid family leave, training programs for women returning to work, and pay equity.

"[61] Newmark opposed the Iraq War and believed White House journalists “failed in their jobs” and did not "speak truth to power".

[63] In 2016, Newmark joined with the progressive RAD Campaign and Lincoln Park Strategies to commission a poll examining user perceptions about social media conflicts during the 2016 election.

[65] In the 2020 election, Newmark supported Joe Biden's campaign, citing his "commitment to fighting corruption" and "record of standing up for our veterans".