American Internet entrepreneur Jimmy Wales has an estimated net worth of $1 million (£750,000). He is the co-founder of Wikipedia, the online non-profit encyclopaedia, and the for-profit web hosting company Wikia.
Born on August 7, 1966, in Huntsville, Alabama, Wales is also known as Jimbo Wales. He went to Randolph School, a college private academy. Afterwards, he graduated with two degrees; a bachelors degree in Finance from Auburn University followed by masters degree in the same subject from the University of Alabama.
While in graduate school, Wales taught at two universities; however, he left before finishing a PhD to take an occupation in back, and later worked as the Research Director of a Chicago, Illinois, futures and options firm. In 1996, he and two accomplices established Bomis, a website featuring entertainment and adult content. The organization would give the underlying financing to the initial funding for the peer-reviewed free encyclopedia, Nupedia (2000–03), and its successor, Wikipedia.
On January 15, 2001, with Larry Sanger and others, Wales launched Wikipedia—a free, open content encyclopedia that gained popularity rapidly and grew quickly; as Wikipedia’s public profile grew, , he became the site’s promoter and representative he became the project’s promoter and spokesman. He is generally refered to as a prime supporter of Wikipedia, however he has debated the “co-” assignment, proclaiming himself the sole founder.
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Wales serves on the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees, the non-profit charitable organization that he set up to work Wikipedia, helped establish to operate Wikipedia, holding its board-appointed “community founder” seat.
In 2004, he co-founded Wikia, a for-profit wiki hosting service. His role in creating Wikipedia, which has become the world’s largest encyclopedia, prompted Time Magazine to name him in their 2006 list of “The 100 Most Influential People in the World”.
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