Billionaires make philanthropic gifts for a variety of reasons. Some do it for authentic reasons such as giving back to organizations that have touched their lives or helping causes with a lack of funding, but some use it as a self-fulfilling prophecy to help their own business or industry interests.
Craigslist founder Craig Newmark committed to giving away his fortune to his passions: combatting disinformation, election security, cybersecurity, and… pigeons.
Newmark, who started Craigslist in 1995 as an email listserv to inform friends of tech events and social gatherings in San Francisco, promised to give away the vast majority of his net worth based on lessons dating back to when he was a kid.
“I learned early on in Sunday school, from Mr. and Mrs. Levin, to know when enough is enough,” Newmark wrote in his Giving Pledge letter in 2025. “Also, I should treat people like I want to be treated.”
A few years later, they taught me that I should help ‘repair the world,’” Newmark, 73, continued. “I got lucky with my stuff, but I don’t need the money, so I’m giving it away.”
