Craigslist Founder Reveals Truth Behind Billion Dollar Email Hustle

Craigslist is turning 30! That’s right, the online classifieds site is celebrating a big milestone.

Craig Newmark, the founder, is now 72. He spends his time on philanthropy. And he recently took to LinkedIn to clear up some misconceptions about the company’s history.

Why? Because there’s “a lot of misinformation out there,” he says.

The Early Days: No Real Records?

Newmark admits there aren’t many records from Craigslist’s early days. This is his best shot at telling the story. He wants to talk about things that “rarely get reported on. ”

How did it all begin?

From Mailing List to Must-Read

Newmark moved to San Francisco in 1993. He used the internet to get to know the city. He learned about neighborhoods, restaurants, and the tech and arts scenes.

This was 1995. The dot-com bubble was just starting.

When Newmark heard about something cool, he’d email it to a small group. Maybe 10 or 12 people.

Decades before Substack, Newmark’s email list became super popular.

It spread by word of mouth. People asked to be added. They told him about events. It just kept growing.

Hitting a Limit

Newmark worked in IT at Charles Schwab. He did some web design on the side. But that mailing list kept getting bigger!

When it hit 240 addresses, it broke. He had to use a listserver.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Craigslist Today: Still Simple

Craigslist hasn’t changed much. It still looks like it’s from the 90s.

The company is private. They don’t share revenue numbers. But Newmark recently shared some data that was interesting.

Like what?

• Craigslist gets 20 billion pageviews monthly.
• It’s worth an estimated $3 billion today.
• It makes about $694 million in annual revenue.

Not a Billionaire?

Newmark pointed out one error in the data. He’s not a billionaire.

“Very appreciated, but no billionaire,” he wrote. He gave away his Craigslist equity to his 501c4 a couple of years ago.

Newmark was reportedly worth $1. 3 billion in 2020. He pledged to give away almost all his wealth to charity in December 2022.

More behind-the-scenes videos are coming soon, Newmark says. Stay tuned!