Jimmy Wales

Date of Birth: August 7, 1966

Zodiac Sign: Leo

Biography

Jimmy Donal Wales, born August 7, 1966, in Huntsville, Alabama, is an American internet entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of Wikipedia, the world’s largest and most popular general reference work. Wales grew up in a household that valued education, with his mother and grandmother running a small private school. He attended Auburn University and later pursued graduate studies in finance at the University of Alabama and Indiana University. In the late 1990s, Wales was involved in the dot-com boom and founded a web portal called Bomis, which provided the initial funding for the development of Nupedia, a free online encyclopedia. Nupedia’s slow pace led to the creation of Wikipedia in 2001, co-founded with Larry Sanger, which allowed users to edit and contribute content freely. Wikipedia quickly grew in popularity and has since become one of the most visited websites globally. Wales has been involved in various other ventures, including the for-profit Wikia (now Fandom) and the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, which oversees Wikipedia and its sister projects. He has been recognized for his contributions to the digital world with numerous awards and honors.

5 Interesting Facts about Jimmy Wales

1. Jimmy Wales originally studied finance and pursued a PhD, but he left without completing his dissertation.

2. He co-founded Wikipedia in 2001, alongside Larry Sanger.

3. Wales is a strong advocate for internet freedom and has been involved in various initiatives promoting open access to information.

4. He was named one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” in 2006.

5. Wales is a fellow of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Jimmy Wales

1. “Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That’s what we’re doing.”

2. “The core community is something I am very passionate about.”

3. “If it isn’t on Wikipedia, it doesn’t exist.”

4. “Collaboration is the future.”

5. “It’s not about the money. It’s about the mission.”

Highest Net Worth Achieved

Jimmy Wales’s highest net worth achieved is estimated to be around $1 million. Unlike many other tech entrepreneurs, Wales has focused on non-profit ventures which significantly influenced his financial standing.

Children

Jimmy Wales has three daughters. His first daughter, Kira, was born in 1996 from his first marriage to Pamela Green. He has two more daughters with his third wife, Kate Garvey, whom he married in 2012.