Jimmy Wales
Jimmy Donal Wales is an American internet entrepreneur and former financial trader, best known for co-founding Wikipedia, the nonprofit free encyclopedia, and Fandom, a for-profit wiki hosting service.
Born in Huntsville, Alabama, Wales studied finance at Auburn University and the University of Alabama.
He briefly taught at two universities before leaving graduate school to pursue a career in finance.
In 1996, he co-founded Bomis, which helped fund Nupedia, a precursor to Wikipedia.
Launched on January 15, 2001, Wikipedia grew rapidly under Wales' leadership.
Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2006.
