Commentary: Gearing up to give away his fortune, Craigslist’s Newmark brushes off philanthropy’s critics

Craig Newmark says making his fortune from Craigslist — the no-frills website where people post jobs, housing, and items for sale — wasn’t because he’s a genius, it was just about being in the right place at the right time. He built the site to be simple, useful, and mostly free, not a profit machine — and got rich anyway. No one needs that much money, says Newmark, so he’s giving most of it away. A signer of the Giving Pledge, he brushes off critics of philanthropy as missing the point. For Newmark, wealth isn’t proof of intelligence. Hoarding your billions makes even less sense when it could actually help people.