Jimmy Wales
Net Worth 2024, Height, Wiki, Age, Bio

 Jimmy Wales facts

• He is the co-founder and promoter of the online non-profit encyclopedia, Wikipedia, and the for-profit Wikia web hosting company
• Wales was born in Huntsville, Alabama, where he attended Randolph School, a university-preparatory school
• Later, he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in Finance from Auburn University and the University of Alabama, respectively
• While in graduate school, Wales taught at two universities; however, he departed before completing a PhD to take a job in finance, and later worked as the Research Director of a Chicago, Illinois, futures and options firm
• In 1996, he and two partners founded Bomis, an adult web portal featuring entertainment and adult content
• The company would provide 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 enjoyed rapid growth and popularity; as Wikipedia's public profile grew, he became the project's promoter and spokesman
• He is historically cited as a co-founder of Wikipedia, though he has disputed the "co-" designation, declaring himself the sole founder
• Wales serves on the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees, the non-profit charitable organization that he helped establish to operate Wikipedia, holding its board-appointed "community founder" seat
• In 2004, he co-founded Wikia, a for-profit wiki hosting service