Soyjak.Party / The Sharty - The altchan born from the ashes of /qa/; also a containment thread

Destacado
The great quote would not ban you for "no reason".
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Buno dijo:
no he said astolfo is a ripoff of spongebob not the other way around so its not femboy garbage, its cis female
Presiona para expandir...
Regardless of how you put it, you cannot deny that Spongebob has a lot of similarities to Astolfo. Therefore, Spongebob has femboy characteristics, which is why I am not watching the show.
 
{{Short description|Co-founder of Wikipedia (born 1966)}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jimmy Wales
| image = Jimmy Wales in New York City March 2023 (3x4 cropped).jpg
| caption = Wales in 2023
| birth_name = Jimmy Donal Wales
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|8|8}}
| birth_place = [[Huntsville, Alabama]], US
| other_names = Jimbo Wales
| citizenship = {{Ubl|United States|United Kingdom}}
| education = {{Unbulleted list|[[Auburn University]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])|[[University of Alabama]] ([[Master of Science|MS]])}}
| occupation = {{Hlist|[[List of Internet entrepreneurs|Internet entrepreneur]]|[[wikt:webmaster|webmaster]]|financial trader}}
| known_for = Co-founding [[Wikipedia]]
| title = {{Unbulleted list|President of [[Fandom (website)|Fandom]] (2004–present)|Chairman of the [[Wikimedia Foundation]] (2003–2006)|Chair ''emeritus'' of the Wikimedia Foundation (2006–present)}}
| spouse = {{Ubl|{{Marriage|Pamela Green|1986|1993|end=div}}|{{Marriage|Christine Rohan|1997|2011|end=div}}|{{Marriage|[[Kate Garvey]]|2012}}}}
| children = 3
| website = {{URL|https://jimmywales.com|jimmywales.com}}
| module = {{Listen voice
|title = Jimmy Wales's voice
|filename = Jimmy Wales voice.ogg
|recorded = August 2014
}}
| signature = File:Jimmy Wales signature.svg
| signature_alt = Signature: Jimmy Wales
}}
'''Jimmy Donal Wales''' (born August 8,<!-- Please see the sources given in the article body below for August 8th birth date. This is not an error. --> 1966) is an American and British<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dunn |first1=Will |title=Jimmy Wales: "Elon Musk is very pleasant to me in private" |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/techno...w-elon-musk-is-very-pleasant-to-me-in-private |magazine=[[The New Statesman]]|quote=Wales runs Wikipedia from London (he has dual British and US citizenship, and has lived here since 2011)|date=29 October 2025|access-date=15 May 2026|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/2026030...very-pleasant-to-me-in-private|archive-date=7 March 2026}}</ref> internet entrepreneur and former financial trader. He is best known for co-founding [[Wikipedia]], a nonprofit free encyclopedia, and [[Fandom (website)|Fandom]] (formerly Wikia), a for-profit [[wiki hosting service]]. He has also worked on [[Bomis]], [[Nupedia]], [[WikiTribune]], and [[Trust Café]] (formerly WT Social).

Born in [[Huntsville, Alabama]], Wales attended [[Randolph School]] and earned finance degrees from [[Auburn University]] and the [[University of Alabama]]. He worked as a financial options trader in [[Chicago]] during the 1990s before shifting his focus to the internet economy. While in graduate school, he was teaching at two universities, but left before completing a PhD to work in finance, later becoming chief research officer at [[Chicago Options Associates]].

In 1996, Wales co-founded Bomis, which funded the free peer-reviewed encyclopedia Nupedia (2000–2003). On January 15, 2001, with [[Larry Sanger]] and others, he launched Wikipedia, which grew rapidly. Wales became its promoter and public face, though he has at times disputed Sanger's role, claiming sole founder status.

Wales has served on the [[Wikimedia Foundation]] board of trustees since its creation, holding its board-appointed "community founder" seat. He gives annual "State of the Wiki" addresses at [[Wikimania]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2012/7/15/...pedia-gender-gap-kate-middleton-wedding-dress |title=Jimmy Wales, Mary Gardiner address Wikipedia's gender gap at Wikimania conference |website=The Verge |date=July 15, 2012 |access-date=December 26, 2017 |author-last1=Toor|author-first1= Amar |archive-date=July 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/2017070...pedia-gender-gap-kate-middleton-wedding-dress |url-status=live}}</ref> For his role in creating Wikipedia, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' named him one of the [[Time 100|100 most influential people in the world]] in 2006.

== Early life and education ==
Jimmy Donal Wales was born in [[Huntsville, Alabama]], on August 8, 1966.<ref name="Britannica">{{Cite web |title=Jimmy Wales {{!}} Biography & Wikipedia Founder {{!}} Britannica Money |url=https://www.britannica.com/money/Jimmy-Wales |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260222085453/https://www.britannica.com/money/Jimmy-Wales |archive-date=February 22, 2026 |access-date=March 2, 2026 |website=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]] |language=en}}</ref>{{Efn|Sources vary on Wales' birth date.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Garside |first=Juliette |date=August 2, 2014 |title=Jimmy Wales: digital champion of free speech |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2014/aug/03/observer-profile-jimmy-wales-wikipedia |access-date=March 2, 2026 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=July 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/2017071...aug/03/observer-profile-jimmy-wales-wikipedia |url-status=live }}</ref> References to his birth date as August 7 are incorrect.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rogoway |first=Mike |date=July 27, 2007 |title=Wikipedia & its founder disagree on his birth date |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/siliconforest/2007/07/on_wikipedia_and_its_founders.html |access-date=March 3, 2026 |website=[[The Oregonian]] |archive-date=November 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/2021112...st/2007/07/on_wikipedia_and_its_founders.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This was due to a mismatch on his birth certificate, causing other official documents to be incorrect. Wales has since confirmed his birth date as August 8.<ref name="Britannica" />}} His father, Jimmy Don Wales,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Weckler |first1=Adrian |title='When Kellyanne Conway spoke of alternative facts, my head exploded' - Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales |url=https://www.independent.ie/business...d-wikipedia-founder-jimmy-wales/36323757.html |website=Irish Independent |date=16 November 2017}}</ref> was a grocery store manager, while his mother, Doris Ann ({{nee|Dudley}}), and his grandmother, Erma, ran the House of Learning,<ref name="bookstopshere" /><ref name="eofa">{{cite encyclopedia |last = Wilson |first = Claire M. |title = Jimmy Wales |url = http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2618 |access-date = December 26, 2017 |encyclopedia = [[Encyclopedia of Alabama]] |archive-date = December 20, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191220034549/http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-2618 |url-status = live }}</ref> a small private school in the tradition of the [[one-room school]]house, where Wales and his three siblings received their early education.<ref name="bookstopshere" /><ref name="reasonmag" /> As a child, Wales enjoyed reading.<ref name="Economist2008" /> When he was three years old, his mother bought a ''[[World Book Encyclopedia]]'' from a door-to-door salesman. ''World Book'' sent out stickers for owners to paste on the pages to update the encyclopedia, and Wales used them on his copy, stating, "I joke that I started as a kid revising the encyclopedia by stickering the one my mother bought."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Isaacson |first1=Walter |author1-link=Walter Isaacson |title=The Innovators |date=2014 |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |isbn=1-4767-0869-X |page=534 |title-link=The Innovators (book)}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |first = Walter |last = Isaacson |url = https://www.thedailybeast.com/you-can-look-it-up-the-wikipedia-story |title = You Can Look It Up: The Wikipedia Story |work = The Daily Beast |date = October 19, 2014 |access-date = December 26, 2017 |archive-date = June 13, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2019061...st.com/you-can-look-it-up-the-wikipedia-story |url-status = live }}</ref>

During an interview in 2005 with [[Brian Lamb]], Wales described his childhood private school as a "[[Montessori method|Montessori]]-influenced philosophy of education", where he "spent lots of hours poring over the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica|Britannica]]'' and ''World Book Encyclopedias''".<ref name="qanda" /> There were only four other children in Wales' [[Educational stages#United States and Canada|grade]], so the school combined the first- through fourth-grade students, and the fifth- through eighth-grade students.<!--<ref name=qanda/> --> As an adult, Wales was sharply critical of the government's treatment of the school, citing the "constant interference and bureaucracy and very sort of snobby inspectors from the state" as a formative influence on his political philosophy.<ref name="qanda" />

After eighth grade, Wales attended [[Randolph School]],<ref name="Randolph" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Moore |first=Rebecca |title=Jimmy Wales '83: "Information evangelist" |url=https://discover.randolphschool.net/blog/k12/2013/01/07/wales |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/2018103....randolphschool.net/blog/k12/2013/01/07/wales |archive-date=2018-10-31 |access-date=2026-06-12 |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC Radio 4 - Profile, Jimmy Wales |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01dc617 |access-date=2026-06-12 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = Todd Chambers' answer to [Pictures or it didn't happen] what was jimmy wales' high school life like? |url = https://www.quora.com/Pictures-or-i...gh-school-life-like/answer/Todd-Rush-Chambers |publisher = Quora |access-date = December 26, 2017 |archive-date = August 10, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2022081...gh-school-life-like/answer/Todd-Rush-Chambers |url-status = live }}</ref> a university-preparatory school in Huntsville, graduating at age 16.<ref name="trend" /> He said that the school was expensive for his family, but that "education was always a passion in my household&nbsp;... you know, the very traditional approach to knowledge and learning and establishing that as a base for a good life."<ref name="qanda" /> He received his bachelor's degree in finance from [[Auburn University]] in 1986. He began his Auburn education when he was 16 years old.<ref name="eofa" /> He then entered the PhD finance program at the [[University of Alabama]] before leaving with a master's degree to enter the PhD finance program at [[Indiana University Bloomington]].<ref name="reasonmag" /><ref name="qanda" /><ref name="trend" /> At the University of Alabama, he played Internet fantasy games and developed his interest in the web.<ref name="eofa" /> He taught at both universities during his postgraduate studies but did not write the doctoral dissertation required for a PhD, something he ascribed to boredom.<ref name="reasonmag" /><ref name="qanda" />

== Career ==

[[file:Bomis-staff-summer-2000.jpg|thumb|The staff of Wales' Internet company [[Bomis]] photographed in summer 2000. Wales is third from the left in the back row with Christine {{nowrap|Rohan{{hsp}}{{mdash}}{{hsp}}}}at the time Christine Wales, his second wife.]]

In 1994, Wales took a job with [[Chicago Options Associates]], a [[futures contract|futures]] and [[option (finance)|options]] trading firm in Chicago, Illinois.<ref name=qanda/><ref name="2.0"/><ref name=knowitall/> Wales has described himself as having been [[Internet addiction disorder|addicted to the Internet]] from an early stage, writing computer code during his leisure time. During his studies in Alabama, he had become an obsessive player of [[multi-user dungeons]] (MUDs)—a type of virtual [[role-playing game]]—and thereby experienced the potential of computer networks to foster large-scale collaborative projects.<ref name=trend/><ref name="am 2006 p93" />

Inspired by the successful [[initial public offering]] of [[Netscape]] in 1995, and having accumulated capital through "speculating on interest-rate and foreign-currency fluctuations",<ref name=bookstopshere/> Wales decided to leave the realm of financial trading and became an Internet entrepreneur.<ref name=trend/> In 1996, he and two partners founded [[Bomis]],<ref name=bookstopshere/><ref name="am 2006 p88"/> a web portal featuring [[user-generated content|user-generated]] [[webring]]s and, for a time, [[softcore pornography]].<ref name=accessforall/> Wales described it as a "guy-oriented search engine" with a market similar to that of ''[[Maxim (magazine)|Maxim]]'' magazine;<ref name=reasonmag/><ref name=qanda/><ref name="wirednews">{{Cite news |last=Hansen |first=Evan |date=2005-12-19 |title=Wikipedia Founder Edits Own Bio |url=https://www.wired.com/2005/12/wikipedia-founder-edits-own-bio/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/2026061....com/2005/12/wikipedia-founder-edits-own-bio/ |archive-date=2026-06-10 |access-date=2026-06-12 |work=WIRED |language=en-US}}</ref> the Bomis venture did not ultimately turn out to be successful.<ref name=bookstopshere/><ref name=reasonmag/><ref name=roy/>

=== Lead-up to Wikipedia ===
{{Main|Nupedia}}
[[File:Nupedia.svg|thumb|Nupedia's logo]]
Though Bomis had at the time struggled to make money, it provided Wales with the funding to pursue his greater passion, an online encyclopedia.<ref name=reasonmag/> While moderating an online discussion group devoted to the philosophy of [[Objectivism]] in the early 1990s, Wales had encountered [[Larry Sanger]], a skeptic of the philosophy.<ref name="Economist2008" /> The two had engaged in detailed debate on the subject on Wales' list and then on Sanger's, eventually meeting offline to continue the debate and becoming friends.<ref name="Economist2008"/>

Years later, after deciding to pursue his encyclopedia project and seeking a credentialed academic to lead it,<ref name="am 2006 p93" /> Wales hired Sanger—who at that time was a doctoral student in philosophy at [[Ohio State University]]—to be its [[Editor in chief|editor-in-chief]], and in March 2000, Nupedia ("the free encyclopedia"), a [[peer-review]]ed, [[Open content|open-content]] encyclopedia, was launched.<ref name=reasonmag/><ref name=qanda/> The intent behind Nupedia was to have expert-written entries on a variety of topics and to sell advertising alongside the entries to make a profit.<ref name="Economist2008"/> The project was characterized by an extensive peer-review process designed to make its articles of a quality comparable to that of professional encyclopedias.<ref name="Liane Gouthro" />

{{blockquote|quote=The idea was to have thousands of volunteers writing articles for an online encyclopedia in all languages. Initially, we found ourselves organizing the work in a very top-down, structured, academic, old-fashioned way. It was no fun for the volunteer writers because we had a lot of academic peer review committees who would criticize articles and give feedback. It was like handing in an essay at grad school, and basically intimidating to participate in.|||sign=Jimmy Wales on the Nupedia project ''[[New Scientist]]'', January 31, 2007<ref name=NEWSCMARKS />}}

In an October 2009 speech, Wales recollected attempting to write a Nupedia article on Nobel Prize-winning economist [[Robert&nbsp;C. Merton]], but being too intimidated to submit his first draft to the prestigious finance professors who were to peer review it. Wales characterized this as the moment he realized that the Nupedia model was not going to work.<ref name="YaleLecture">{{cite web |date = October 7, 2009 |title = The Future of Free Culture: Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia |url = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9Vu69Ajtlk |archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/X9Vu69Ajtlk |archive-date = December 21, 2021 |url-status = live |author = Yale University |via=YouTube |access-date = August 18, 2011 |time = 43:19 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>

In January 2001, Sanger was introduced to the concept of a [[wiki]] by [[extreme programming]] enthusiast [[Ben Kovitz]] after explaining to Kovitz the slow pace of growth Nupedia endured as a result of its onerous submission process.<ref name="am 2006 p91" /> Kovitz suggested that adopting the wiki model would allow editors to contribute simultaneously and incrementally throughout the project, thus breaking Nupedia's bottleneck.<ref name="am 2006 p91" /> Sanger was excited about the idea, and after he proposed it to Wales, they created the first Nupedia wiki on January 10, 2001.<ref name="am 2006 p91" />

The wiki was initially intended as a collaborative project for the public to write articles that would then be reviewed for publication by Nupedia's expert volunteers. The majority of Nupedia's experts, however, wanted nothing to do with this project, fearing that mixing amateur content with professionally researched and edited material would compromise the integrity of Nupedia's information and damage the credibility of the encyclopedia.<ref name=signon/> Despite this the wiki project, dubbed "[[Wikipedia]]", went live at a separate [[domain name|domain]] five days after its creation.<ref name=knowitall/><ref name=roy/>

===Wikipedia===
{{Main|History of Wikipedia}}

{{external media|width=210px|headerimage=[[File:Jimbo at Fosdem cropped.jpg|210px]]|float=right
|video1 =[https://www.ted.com/talks/jimmy_wales_the_birth_of_wikipedia Jimmy Wales: The birth of Wikipedia], [[TED (conference)|TED]], 2005<ref name="TED">{{cite web |title = Jimmy Wales: The birth of Wikipedia |publisher = [[TED (conference)|TED]] |date = July 2005 |url = https://www.ted.com/talks/jimmy_wales_the_birth_of_wikipedia |access-date = December 26, 2017 |last1 = Wales |first1 = Jimmy |archive-date = May 7, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2019050...immy_wales_on_the_birth_of_wikipedia#t-650375 |url-status = live }}</ref>
|video2 =[https://www.c-span.org/video/?188855-1/qa-jimmy-wales ''Q&A'' interview with Jimmy Wales], [[C-SPAN]], 2005<ref name="qanda"/>
|video3=[//www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pKIi3LuUBg Lecture Jimmy Wales: Understanding failure as a route to success], [[Maastricht University]], 2015<ref name="Maas">{{cite web |title = Lecture Jimmy Wales: Understanding failure as a route to success |publisher = [[Maastricht University]] on YouTube |date = January 2015 |url = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pKIi3LuUBg |access-date = December 26, 2017 |via = YouTube |archive-date = August 10, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220810210612/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pKIi3LuUBg |url-status = live }}</ref>
|video4=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diJp4zoQPqo Interview with Wales], ''[[Lex Fridman Podcast]]'', 2023<ref name="LFP Wales">{{cite web |title=Jimmy Wales: Wikipedia - Lex Fridman Podcast #385 | date=June 18, 2023 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diJp4zoQPqo |via=YouTube |publisher=[[Lex Fridman Podcast]] |access-date=September 2, 2023 |archive-date=August 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811144408/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diJp4zoQPqo |url-status=live }}</ref>
|video5=[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interview_with_Jimmy_Wales_at_Wikimania_2025_Nairobi.webm Interview with Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales at Wikimania 2025, Nairobi, Kenya], ''[[RTV (Bangladeshi TV channel)|Rtv]]'', 2025 <ref>{{cite news |last1=Hossain |first1=Delwar |title=Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales Rtv News |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19-JVMvSDaM |access-date=23 August 2025 |agency=Rtv news |publisher=Rtv news |archive-date=September 5, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250905025707/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19-JVMvSDaM |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}

Originally, Bomis planned to make Wikipedia a profitable business.<ref name="Seth Finkelstein" /> Sanger initially saw Wikipedia primarily as a tool to aid [[Nupedia]] development. Wales feared that, at worst, it might produce "complete rubbish".<ref name="knowitall" /> To the surprise of Sanger and Wales, within a few days of launching, the number of articles on Wikipedia had outgrown that of Nupedia, and a small collective of editors had formed.<ref name="2.0" /><ref name="am 2006 p93" /> It was Jimmy Wales, along with other people, who came up with the broader idea of an open-source, collaborative encyclopedia that would accept contributions from ordinary people.<ref name="Sanger2005">{{cite book |last = Sanger |first = Larry |editor1-last = DiBona |editor1-first = Chris |editor2-last = Cooper |editor2-first = Danese |editor3-last = Stone |editor3-first = Mark |chapter = The Early History of Nupedia and Wikipedia: A Memoir |title = Open Sources 2.0: The Continuing Evolution |chapter-url = {{GBurl|id=q9GnNrq3e5EC|p=312}} |date = November 1, 2005 |publisher = O'Reilly Media, Inc. |isbn = 978-0-596-00802-4 |page = [https://archive.org/details/opensources20con0000unse/page/312 312] |quote = To be clear, the idea of an open source, collaborative/encyclopedia, open to contribution by ordinary people, was entirely Jimmy's, not mine, and the funding was entirely by Bomis. I was merely a grateful employee; I thought I was very lucky to have a job like that land in my lap. Of course, other people had had the idea... |url = https://archive.org/details/opensources20con0000unse/page/312 }}</ref> Initially, neither Sanger nor Wales knew what to expect from the Wikipedia initiative.<ref name=knowitall/><ref name="am 2006 p93" /> Many of the early contributors to the site were familiar with the model of the [[free culture movement]], and, like Wales, many of them sympathized with the [[open-source movement]].<ref name=signon/>

Wales has said that he was initially so worried about the concept of open editing, where anyone can edit the encyclopedia, that he would awaken during the night and monitor what was being added.<ref name="utopia" /><ref>{{cite book |last1 = Tapscott |first1 = Don |last2 = Anthony D. |title = Wikinomics |page = 71 |year = 2008 |publisher = Penguin Group |isbn = 978-1-59184-231-6 |oclc = 263665459 }}</ref> Nonetheless, the cadre of early editors helped create a robust, self-regulating community that has proven conducive to the growth of the project.<ref name=reasonmag/> In a talk at [[SXSW]] in 2016, he recalled that he wrote the first words on Wikipedia: "[["Hello, World!" program|Hello world]]", a phrase computer programmers often use to test new software.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.businessinsider.com/wikipedias-first-words-hello-world-2016-3 |title = The first words on Wikipedia were a nerdy programmer in-joke |website = Business Insider |date = March 13, 2016 |access-date = December 26, 2017 |last = Carson |first= Biz |archive-date = December 26, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2017122...com/wikipedias-first-words-hello-world-2016-3 |url-status = live }}</ref>

Sanger developed Wikipedia in its early phase and guided the project.<ref name="Brian Bergstein" /><ref name="Michael Singer" /> The broader idea he originally ascribes to other people, remarking in a 2005 memoir for ''[[Slashdot]]'' that "the idea of an open-source, collaborative encyclopedia, open to contribution by ordinary people, was entirely Jimmy's, not mine, and the funding was entirely by Bomis. Of course, other people had had the idea", adding, "the actual development of this encyclopedia was the task he gave me to work on."<ref name=slashdot/>

Sanger worked on and promoted both the Nupedia and Wikipedia projects until Bomis discontinued funding for his position in February 2002;<ref name=whyitmatters/> Sanger resigned as editor-in-chief of Nupedia and as "chief organizer" of Wikipedia on March{{nbsp}}1 of that year.<ref name=resignation/><ref name=digitaluniverse/> Early on, Bomis supplied the financial backing for Wikipedia,<ref name="Michael Singer" /><ref name=seattle/> and entertained the notion of placing advertisements on Wikipedia before costs were reduced with Sanger's departure and plans for a non-profit foundation were advanced instead.<ref name="Seth Finkelstein" />

====Co-founder status dispute====
{{Further|History of Wikipedia#Early roles of Wales and Sanger}}
Wales has said that he is the sole founder of Wikipedia, and has publicly disputed Sanger's designation as a co-founder.<ref name="Parmy Olson" /> Sanger and Wales were identified as co-founders as early as September 2001 by ''[[The New York Times]]'', and both were described as founders in Wikipedia's first press release in January 2002.<ref name="sanger-NYTimes" /><ref name="Wikipedia Press Release of 2002" /> In August of that year, Wales identified himself as "co-founder" of Wikipedia.<ref name="Yahoo!" /> Sanger assembled on his personal webpage an assortment of links that appear to confirm the status of he and Wales as co-founders.<ref name="Brian Bergstein" /><ref name="SangerLinks" /><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.geekentertainment.tv/2006/03/24/sxsw2006-jimmy-wales-uber-wikipedian/ |title = SXSW2006: Jimmy Wales, Uber Wikipedian |last1 = Slutsky |first1 = Irina |author-link1 = Irina Slutsky |last2 = Codel |first2 = Eddie |date = March 24, 2006 |publisher = Geek Entertainment TV |access-date = December 26, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2012122...6/03/24/sxsw2006-jimmy-wales-uber-wikipedian/ |archive-date = December 22, 2012 |url-status = dead }}</ref>

In February 2006, Wales was quoted by ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' as calling Sanger's statements "preposterous", and in April 2009 Wales called the founder debate "silly".<ref name="David Mehegan" /><ref name="William Paoletto" /> In 2013, Wales told ''The New York Times'' that the dispute is "the dumbest controversy in the history of the world".<ref>{{Cite news |last = Spence |first = Madeleine |date = August 1, 2021 |title = Larry Sanger: 'I wouldn't trust Wikipedia — and I helped to invent it' |newspaper = [[The Times]] |url = https://www.thetimes.com/uk/wales/a...wikipedia-and-i-helped-to-invent-it-cflrhmdhx |access-date = August 1, 2021 |issn = 0140-0460 |archive-date = August 1, 2021 |archive-url = https://archive.today/2021080109520...wikipedia-and-i-helped-to-invent-it-cflrhmdhx |url-status = live }}</ref> In November 2025, Wales appeared on the podcast [[Jung & Naiv|''Jung & Naiv'']] for an interview with the German journalist [[Tilo Jung]]. Wales stood up and left after less than a minute, calling Jung's questions about his founder status "stupid".<ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-11-15 |title=Wikipedia-Gründer Jimmy Wales nennt Tilo Jungs Fragen »dumm« |trans-title=Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales calls Tilo Jung's questions "stupid" |url=https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/jun...erview-a-dbb0bbaf-5320-44d8-88df-09492bd789f7 |access-date=2025-11-16 |work=Der Spiegel |language=de |issn=2195-1349}}</ref>

In late 2005, Wales edited his biographical entry on the [[English Wikipedia]]. Writer [[Rogers Cadenhead]] drew attention to [[Data logging|logs]] showing that in his edits to the page, Wales had removed references to Sanger as the co-founder of Wikipedia.<ref name=cadenhead/><ref name="Dan Mitchell" /> Sanger commented that "having seen edits like this, it does seem that Jimmy is attempting to rewrite history. But this is a futile process because, in our brave new world of transparent activity and maximum communication, the truth will out."<ref name=wirednews /><ref name="Rhys Blakely" /> Wales was also observed to have modified references to [[Bomis]] in a way that was characterized as downplaying the sexual nature of some of his former company's products.<ref name=knowitall/><ref name=wirednews/> Though Wales argued that his modifications were solely intended to improve the accuracy of the content,<ref name=wirednews/> he apologized for editing his biography, a practice generally discouraged on Wikipedia.<ref name="wirednews" /><ref name="Rhys Blakely" />

==== Role ====

In a 2004 interview with ''Slashdot'', Wales outlined his vision for Wikipedia: "Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's what we're doing."<ref name=roblimo /> Although his formal designation is board member and chairman emeritus of the Wikimedia Foundation, Wales' [[social capital]] within the Wikipedia community has accorded him a status that has been characterized as [[benevolent dictator]], [[constitutional monarch]] and [[spiritual leader]].<ref name=wikipedia@nyt/><ref name=wikiworld/><ref name=egypt/> In two interviews with ''[[The Guardian]]'' in 2014, Wales elaborated on his role on Wikipedia. In the first interview, he said that while he "has always rejected" the term "benevolent dictator", he does refer to himself as the "constitutional monarch". In the second, he elaborated on his "constitutional monarch" designation, saying that, like [[Queen of the United Kingdom]] [[Elizabeth II]], he has no real power.<ref name=Garside-2014-08-03>{{cite news |newspaper = The Observer |url = https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2014/aug/03/observer-profile-jimmy-wales-wikipedia |title = Jimmy Wales: digital champion of free speech |first = Juliette |last = Garside |date = August 3, 2014 |access-date = December 26, 2017 |archive-date = July 10, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2017071...aug/03/observer-profile-jimmy-wales-wikipedia |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last = Cadwalladr |first = Carole |url = https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/feb/07/jimmy-wales-wikipedia-interview |title = Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales: 'It's true, I'm not a billionaire. So?'&nbsp;– interview |newspaper = [[The Guardian]] |date = February 7, 2014 |access-date = December 26, 2017 |archive-date = May 18, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2019051...y/2014/feb/07/jimmy-wales-wikipedia-interview |url-status = live }}</ref> He was also the closest the project had to a spokesperson in its early years.<ref name="Economist2008" /> The growth and prominence of Wikipedia made Wales an [[Internet celebrity]].<ref name=arendse /> Although he had never traveled outside North America before the site's founding, his participation in the Wikipedia project has seen him flying internationally on a near-constant basis as its public face.<ref name="Economist2008" /><ref name=karasz />

When Larry Sanger left Wikipedia, Wales' approach was different from Sanger's<ref name=Anderson2011/> in that he was fairly hands-off.<ref name=Anderson2011>{{cite book |last = Anderson |first = Jennifer Joline |page = 76 |title = Wikipedia: The Company and Its Founders |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3Ql0ic5dTmgC&pg=PA76 |edition = 1st |publisher = Abdo Group |year = 2011 |isbn = 978-1-61714-812-5 |access-date = February 24, 2016 |archive-date = February 16, 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230216014625/https://books.google.com/books?id=3Ql0ic5dTmgC&pg=PA76 |url-status = live }}</ref> Despite involvement in other projects, Wales has denied intending to reduce his role within Wikipedia, telling ''The New York Times'' in 2008 that "Dialing down is not an option for me&nbsp;... Not to be too dramatic about it, but, 'to create and distribute a free encyclopedia of the highest possible quality to every single person on the planet in their own language,' that's who I am. That's what I am doing. That's my life goal."<ref name=wikiworld/> In May 2010, the [[BBC]] reported that Wales had relinquished many of his technical privileges on [[Wikimedia Commons]], a Wikipedia sister project that hosts much of its multimedia content. This came after criticism by the project's volunteer community, who considered Wales to have taken a hasty and undemocratic approach to deleting sexually explicit images he believed to "appeal solely to prurient interests".<ref name=bbc2010/>

=== Wikimedia Foundation ===

[[File:Wm2007 press 002.jpg|thumb|Wales appearing as a member of the [[Wikimedia Foundation]] Board of Trustees at [[Wikimania 2007]]]]

In mid-2003, Wales set up the [[Wikimedia Foundation]] (WMF), a non-profit organization founded in [[St. Petersburg, Florida]], and later headquartered in San Francisco, California.<ref name=BBCTech/><ref name=cadelago/> All Wikipedia intellectual property rights and domain names were moved to the new foundation,<ref name=telegraph/> whose purpose is to support the encyclopedia and its sister projects.<ref name="am 2006 p93" /> Wales has been a member of the Wikimedia Foundation's [[Trustee|Board of Trustees]] since it was formed and was its official chairman from 2003 through 2006.<ref name=WMFD/> Since 2006 he has been accorded the honorary title of chairman [[:wikt:emeritus|emeritus]] and holds the board-appointed "[[Wikimedia Foundation#Board of trustees|community founder's seat]]" that was installed in 2008.<ref name=terdiman/><ref>{{Cite web |url = https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Bylaws#ARTICLE_IV_-_THE_BOARD_OF_TRUSTEES |title = Wikimedia Foundation Bylaws |publisher= Wikimedia Foundation |date = August 5, 2008 |access-date = December 26, 2017 |quote = (F) Community Founder Trustee Position. The Board may appoint Jimmy Wales as Community Founder Trustee for a three-year term. The Board may reappoint Wales as Community Founder Trustee for successive three-year terms (without a term limit). In the event that Wales is not appointed as Community Founder Trustee, the position will remain vacant, and the Board shall not fill the vacancy. |archive-date = February 25, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2017022...iki/Bylaws#ARTICLE_IV_-_THE_BOARD_OF_TRUSTEES |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url = https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Board_of_Trustees#Structure |title = Board of Trustees |publisher= Wikimedia Foundation |access-date = December 26, 2017 |quote = Since 2008, the Board has seats for ten Trustees: one founder's seat (reserved for Jimmy Wales); two seats selected by the Wikimedia chapters and thematic organizations; three seats nominated by the Wikimedia community; and four seats appointed by the rest of the Board |archive-date = August 19, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2017081...undation.org/wiki/Board_of_Trustees#Structure |url-status = live }}</ref>

His work for the foundation, including his appearances to promote it at computer and educational conferences, has always been unpaid.<ref name=accessforall/> Wales has often joked that donating Wikipedia to the foundation was both the "dumbest and the smartest" thing he had done. On one hand, he estimated that Wikipedia was worth {{US$|3}}{{nbsp}}billion but on the other hand, he weighed his belief that the donation made its success possible.<ref name=NEWSCMARKS/><ref name=telegraph/><ref name=dw-world/><ref name=ioltechnology/> In 2020, Wales said that "I view my role as being very much like the [[Elizabeth II|modern monarch of the UK]]: no real power, but the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, and the right to warn."<ref name="Garfield-2020">{{Cite magazine |last = Garfield |first = Simon |date = October 20, 2020 |title = What We Know and Can Agree On: Wikipedia at 20 |url = https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/a34412278/wikipedia-at-20/ |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2020102...ire.com/uk/culture/a34412278/wikipedia-at-20/ |archive-date = October 20, 2020 |access-date = February 16, 2021 |magazine = [[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]}}</ref>

Wales' association with the foundation has led to controversy. In March 2008, Wales was accused by former Wikimedia Foundation employee Danny Wool of misusing the foundation's funds for recreational purposes.<ref name=moses/> Wool also stated that Wales had his Wikimedia credit card taken away in part because of his spending habits, a statement Wales denied.<ref name=moses/> Then-chairperson of the foundation [[Florence Devouard]] and former foundation interim Executive Director Brad Patrick denied any wrongdoing by Wales or the foundation, saying that Wales accounted for every expense and that, for items for which he lacked receipts, he paid out of his pocket; in private, Devouard upbraided Wales for "constantly trying to rewrite the past".<ref name=ryan/>

Later in March 2008, former [[Novell]] [[computer scientist]] Jeff Merkey said that Wales had edited Merkey's Wikipedia entry to make it more favorable in return for donations to the Wikimedia Foundation, an allegation Wales dismissed as "nonsense".<ref name="Moses2" /><ref name=bbcpaidediting/> In early 2016, Wikipedia editors perceived the WMF's [[Knowledge Engine (Wikimedia Foundation)|Knowledge Engine]] project as a [[conflict of interest]] for Wales, whose business Wikia might benefit from having the WMF spend a lot of money on research in respect to search.<ref name=Mullin2016/> Wikia attempted to develop a search engine but it was closed in 2009.<ref name=Mullin2016>{{cite news |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2016030...ation-resigns-as-tensions-with-editors-mount/ |archive-date = March 1, 2016 |url = https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...ation-resigns-as-tensions-with-editors-mount/ |title = Wikimedia Foundation director resigns after uproar over "Knowledge Engine" |last = Mullin |first = Joe |date = February 29, 2016 |website = [[Ars Technica]] |url-status = dead }}</ref>

=== Wikia and later pursuits ===

In 2004, Wales and then-fellow member of the [[Wikimedia Foundation|WMF]] Board of Trustees Angela Beesley founded the for-profit company [[Wikia]].<ref name="2.0" /> Wikia is a [[wiki farm]]{{mdash}}a collection of individual wikis on different subjects, all hosted on the same website. It hosts some of the largest wikis outside Wikipedia, including [[Memory Alpha]] (devoted to ''[[Star Trek]]'') and [[Wookieepedia]] (''[[Star Wars]]'').<ref name=bjortomt/> Another service offered by Wikia was [[Wikia Search]], an open source search engine intended to challenge [[Google]] and introduce transparency and public dialogue about how it is created into the search engine's operations,<ref name="fastcompany" /> but the project was abandoned in March 2009.<ref name=updateonwikia/>

Wales stepped down as Wikia CEO to be replaced by [[angel investor]] [[Gil Penchina]], a former vice president and general manager at [[eBay]], on June{{nbsp}}5, 2006.<ref name="CEO" /> Penchina declared Wikia to have reached profitability in September 2009.<ref name=lavallee/> In addition to his role at Wikia, Wales is a public speaker represented by the Harry Walker Agency.<ref name=harrywalker/><ref name=harrywalkerbio/> He has also participated in a [[celebrity endorsement]] campaign for the Swiss watchmaker [[Maurice Lacroix]].<ref>{{cite news |last = Rębała |first = Monika |title = Król Encyklopedii |url = http://www.newsweek.pl/artykuly/krol-encyklopedii,70199,2 |access-date = July 5, 2011 |newspaper = Newsweek Polska |date = January 8, 2011 |language = pl |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110806081758/http://www.newsweek.pl/artykuly/krol-encyklopedii,70199,2 |archive-date = August 6, 2011 |url-status = dead }}</ref>

On November 4, 2011, Wales delivered an hour-long address at [[The Sage Gateshead]] in the United Kingdom to launch the 2011 Free Thinking Festival on [[BBC Radio Three]].<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b016kgfd Jimmy Wales launches 2011 Free Thinking Festival] , on [[BBC Radio Three]] November 4, 2011.</ref> His speech, which was entitled "The Future of the Internet", was largely devoted to Wikipedia. Twenty days later, on November 24, Wales appeared on the British topical debate television program ''[[Question Time (TV series)|Question Time]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title = This week's panel |url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/question_time/9645839.stm |access-date = December 26, 2017 |work = [[Question Time (TV series)|Question Time]] |date = November 23, 2011 |archive-date = August 10, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2022081....uk/2/hi/programmes/question_time/9645839.stm |url-status = live }}</ref>

In May 2012, it was reported that Wales was advising the UK government on how to make taxpayer-funded academic research available on the internet at no cost.<ref name="Advisor">{{cite news |title = Wikipedia founder to help in government's research scheme |last = Jha |first = Alok |url = https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/may/01/wikipedia-research-jimmy-wales-online |newspaper = The Guardian |date = May 1, 2012 |access-date = December 26, 2017 |archive-date = January 14, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2018011.../may/01/wikipedia-research-jimmy-wales-online |url-status = live }}</ref> His role reportedly involved working as "an unpaid advisor on crowdsourcing and opening up policymaking", and advising the [[Department of Business, Innovation and Skills]] and the UK research councils on distributing research.<ref name="Advisor" />

In January 2014, it was announced that Wales had joined [[The People's Operator]] as co-chair of the mobile phone network.<ref name="telegraphJan14">{{cite news |last=Curtis |first=Sophie |date=January 20, 2014 |title=Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales backs 'viral mobile network' The People's Operator |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technol...iral-mobile-network-The-Peoples-Operator.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20...iral-mobile-network-The-Peoples-Operator.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |access-date=December 26, 2017 |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref> On March 21, 2014, Wales spoke on a panel at a [[Clinton Global Initiative]] University conference held at [[Arizona State University]], along with [[John McCain]], Saudi Arabian women's rights activist [[Manal al-Sharif]] and [[Harvard University]] student [[Shree Bose]].<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.cgiu.org/meetings/2014/agenda.asp?day=1 |title = CGI U 2014 Meeting Agenda |publisher = Clinton Global Initiative |date = March 21, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140323194545/http://www.cgiu.org/meetings/2014/agenda.asp?day=1 |archive-date = March 23, 2014 |access-date = March 23, 2014 |url-status = dead }}</ref> The topic of discussion was "the age of participation" and the ability of an increasingly large number of citizens to "express their own opinions, pursue their own educations, and launch their own enterprises." Wales exhorted young people to use social media to try to bring about societal change, and compared government suppression of the Internet to a human rights violation.<ref>{{cite news |last = Mak |first = Tim |url = http://washingtonexaminer.com/bill-...f-internet-domain-name-system/article/2546105 |title = Bill Clinton defends American control of Internet domain name system |newspaper = [[Washington Examiner]] |date = March 22, 2014 |access-date = December 26, 2017 |archive-date = July 25, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2018072...f-internet-domain-name-system/article/2546105 |url-status = live }}</ref>

On May 26, 2014, Google appointed Wales to serve on a seven-member committee on privacy in response to ''[[Google v. Gonzalez]]'', which led to Google's being inundated with requests to remove websites from their search results. Wales said he wanted the committee to be viewed as "a [[Blue-ribbon committee|blue-ribbon panel]]" by lawmakers and for the committee to advise the lawmakers as well as Google.<ref>{{cite news |last = Fleischer |first = Lisa |url = https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/0...as-wales-to-help-weigh-right-to-be-forgotten/ |title = Google Taps Wikipedia's Wales to Help Weigh "Right to Be Forgotten" |newspaper = [[The Wall Street Journal]] |date = May 30, 2014 |access-date = December 26, 2017 |archive-date = July 9, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2017070...as-wales-to-help-weigh-right-to-be-forgotten/ |url-status = live }}</ref>

In 2017, Wales announced that he was launching an online publication called [[WikiTribune]], to fight fake news through a combination of professional journalists and volunteer contributors. Wales described it as "news by the people and for the people", and that it will be the "first time that professional journalists and citizen journalists will work side-by-side as equals writing stories as they happen, editing them live as they develop, and at all times backed by a community checking and rechecking all facts".<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.theguardian.com/technol...-to-fight-fake-news-with-new-wikitribune-site |last = Hern |first = Alex |title = Wikipedia co-founder launches Wikitribune to eradicate fake news |newspaper = The Guardian |date = April 25, 2017 |access-date = December 26, 2017 |archive-date = May 20, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2017052...-to-fight-fake-news-with-new-wikitribune-site |url-status = live }}</ref> In October 2019, Wales launched an ad-free social network, [[WT Social]].<ref>{{cite news |title = Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales launches Twitter and Facebook rival |author-first1=Tim|author-last1=Bradshaw|date=13 November 2019|url = https://www.ft.com/content/9956ff9c-0622-11ea-a984-fbbacad9e7dd |access-date = November 16, 2019 |newspaper = [[Financial Times]] |archive-date = November 17, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2019111.../content/9956ff9c-0622-11ea-a984-fbbacad9e7dd |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title = Want an Ad-Free Social Network? Wikipedia's Co-Founder Made One |url = https://uk.pcmag.com/mastodon/123604/want-an-ad-free-social-network-wikipedias-co-founder-made-one |access-date = November 16, 2019 |magazine = [[PCMag]] |date = November 15, 2019 |archive-date = November 16, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2019111...social-network-wikipedias-co-founder-made-one |url-status = live }}</ref>

The Jimmy Wales Foundation for Freedom of Expression is a UK-based charity established by Wales to fight against [[human rights violations]] in the field of [[freedom of expression]].<ref>{{cite news |last1 = Smith |first1 = Charlie |date = September 4, 2015 |title = Jimmy Wales on Censorship in China |website = HuffPost |url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charlie-smith/jimmy-wales-on-censorship_b_8087400.html |access-date = March 8, 2017 |archive-date = March 22, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2019032...mith/jimmy-wales-on-censorship_b_8087400.html |url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="jpost">{{cite news |title = Jimmy Wales wants Wikipedia to change the world, again |work = The Jerusalem Post |url = https://www.jpost.com/Business-and-...ts-Wikipedia-to-change-the-world-again-403592 |access-date = March 8, 2017 |archive-date = October 12, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2019101...ts-Wikipedia-to-change-the-world-again-403592 |url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date = October 21, 2016 |title = Wikipedia founder joins worldwide chorus in support of Zunar |work = Free Malaysia Today |url = http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/ca...r-joins-worldwide-chorus-in-support-of-zunar/ |access-date = March 8, 2017 |archive-date = August 11, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2017081...r-joins-worldwide-chorus-in-support-of-zunar/ |url-status = dead }}</ref> Wales founded the charity after receiving a prize from the leader of [[Dubai]], which he felt he could not accept given the strict censorship laws there, but claims he was not allowed to give back.<ref name="jpost" /> As of 2016, the charity's CEO is Orit Kopel.<ref>{{Cite news |last1 = Wales |first1 = Jimmy |last2 = Kopel |first2 = Orit |date = March 16, 2016 |title = Jimmy Wales: 'The world needs to ask: #whereisBassel?' |newspaper = The Guardian |url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/s...my-wales-the-world-needs-to-ask-whereisbassel |access-date = August 11, 2017 |issn = 0261-3077 |archive-date = September 18, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2019091...my-wales-the-world-needs-to-ask-whereisbassel |url-status = live }}</ref>

== Political views ==

=== Personal philosophy ===

[[File:JimmyWalesJI5.jpg|thumb|left|Wales at a [[Creative Commons]] board meeting in June 2008]]

Wales has previously referred to himself as an [[Objectivism|Objectivist]],<ref name="fastcompany"/> referring to the philosophy of writer [[Ayn Rand]] in the mid-20th century that emphasizes [[reason]], [[individualism]], and [[capitalism]]. Wales first encountered the philosophy through reading Rand's novel ''[[The Fountainhead]]'' during his undergraduate period<ref name=qanda/> and, in 1992, founded an electronic mailing list devoted to "Moderated Discussion of Objectivist Philosophy".<ref name="Economist2008"/><ref name=lrb/> Though he has stated that the philosophy "colors everything I do and think",<ref name="Economist2008"/> he has said, "I think I do a better job—than a lot of people who self-identify as Objectivists—of not pushing my point of view on other people."<ref name=zenmonkeys/>

[[File:2014-03-14 CeBIT Global Conferences, Jimmy Wales, Founder Wikipedia, (26) On stage showing the world for Wikipedia Zero (500 millions), while Brent Goff is still listening.jpg|thumb|Jimmy Wales 2014 on ''[[CeBIT]] Global Conferences'', [[Wikipedia Zero]]]]

When asked by [[Brian Lamb]] about Rand's influence on him in his appearance on [[C-SPAN]]'s ''[[Q & A (U.S. talk show)|Q&A]]'' in September 2005, Wales cited [[integrity]] and "the virtue of independence" as personally important. When asked if he could trace "the Ayn Rand connection" to a personal political philosophy at the time of the interview, Wales labeled himself a [[Libertarianism in the United States|libertarian]], qualifying his remark by referring to the [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian Party]] as "lunatics", and citing "freedom, liberty, basically individual rights, that idea of dealing with other people in a manner that is not initiating force against them" as his guiding principles.<ref name=qanda/> In a 2014 tweet, he expressed support for [[open borders]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jimmy Wales [@jimmy_wales] |title=I believe in the elimination of borders and free commerce as a route to peace. Barriers necessarily imply violence. |url=https://x.com/jimmy_wales/status/429505544265560064 |access-date=2026-06-12 |website=Twitter |archive-date=November 19, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251119204905/https://x.com/jimmy_wales/status/429505544265560064 |url-status=live }}</ref>

An interview with Wales served as the cover feature of the June 2007 issue of the libertarian magazine ''[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]]''.<ref name=reasonmag/> In that profile, he described his political views as "center-right".<ref name="reasonmag" /> In a 2011 interview with ''[[The Independent]]'', he expressed sympathy with the [[Occupy Wall Street]] and [[Occupy London]] protesters, saying, "You don't have to be a [[socialist]] to say it's not right to take money from everybody and give it to a few rich people. That's not free enterprise."<ref>{{cite news |last = Dugan |first = Emily |url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...les-the-internets-shy-evangelist-2374679.html |archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20...les-the-internets-shy-evangelist-2374679.html |archive-date = June 9, 2022 |url-access = subscription |url-status = live |date = October 23, 2011 |title = Jimmy Wales: The internet's shy evangelist |newspaper = The Independent |access-date = December 26, 2017 }}</ref> [[Dan Hodges]] in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' has described Wales as a "[[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] sympathizer".<ref name="telegraphwhydidedmiliband">{{Cite news |last=Hodges |first=Dan |date=14 May 2015 |title=Why did Ed Miliband refuse the help of Jimmy Wales? |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ge...-Miliband-refuse-the-help-of-Jimmy-Wales.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/2018092...-Miliband-refuse-the-help-of-Jimmy-Wales.html |archive-date=2018-09-29 |access-date=2026-06-12 |work=Telegraph.co.uk |language=en}}</ref> In 2015, Wales offered to help [[Ed Miliband]] with the Labour Party's social media strategy, but Miliband declined the offer.<ref name="telegraphwhydidedmiliband" />

In 2015, Wales signed up as the committee chair for Democrat [[Lawrence Lessig]]'s [[Lawrence Lessig presidential campaign, 2016|2016 presidential campaign]].<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/...les_leads_lawrence_lessigs_presidential_push/ |title = Jimbo 'Wikipedia' Wales leads Lawrence Lessig's presidential push |website = The Register |date = August 17, 2015 |access-date = December 26, 2017 |author = Sharwood, Simon |archive-date = October 23, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2017102...les_leads_lawrence_lessigs_presidential_push/ |url-status = live }}</ref> In 2016, Wales and eleven other business leaders signed an open letter to American voters urging them not to vote for [[Donald Trump]] in that year's [[2016 United States presidential election|presidential election]].<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2016/10/07/why-joseph-kopser-11-other-national-business.html |title = Why Joseph Kopser, 11 other national business leaders oppose Donald Trump |work = Austin Business Journal |date = October 7, 2016 |access-date = December 26, 2017 |author = Barr, Greg |archive-date = May 6, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2017050...joseph-kopser-11-other-national-business.html |url-status = live }}</ref> In May 2017, Wales said on [[Quora]] that he is a centrist and a [[gradualist]], and believes "that slow step-by-step change is better and more sustainable and allows us to test new things with a minimum of difficult disruption in society."<ref>{{Cite web |url = https://www.quora.com/Where-is-Jimmy-Wales-on-the-political-compass |title = Where is Jimmy Wales on the political compass? |publisher = Quora | access-date = September 2, 2018 |archive-date = August 10, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2022081...Where-is-Jimmy-Wales-on-the-political-compass |url-status = live }}</ref> In May 2022, Wales said that he did not identify with any particular political label.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last = Mangu-Ward |first = Katherine |date = April 28, 2022 |title = Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales Has Already Solved the Internet's Problems |url = https://reason.com/video/2022/04/28...es-has-already-solved-the-internets-problems/ |access-date = May 7, 2022 |magazine = [[Reason (magazine)|Reason]] |archive-date = May 6, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2022050...es-has-already-solved-the-internets-problems/ |url-status = live }}</ref> In May 2024, in the run-up to the [[2024 United Kingdom general election]], he was a joint signatory of a public letter of support for the UK Labour Party.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/28/uk-...-business-leaders-back-labour.html|title=More than 100 business leaders including Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales sign open letter backing Britain's center-left opposition|first=Jenni|last=Reid|date=May 28, 2024|website=CNBC|access-date=May 28, 2024|archive-date=May 28, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/2024052...ness-leaders-back-labour.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Islam |first=Faisal |date=2024-05-27 |title=General election: 121 business chiefs sign letter backing Labour |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckvv8qwl4y4o |access-date=2026-06-12 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>

=== Development and management of Wikipedia ===

[[File:Jimbo at Bengali Wikipedia 10th anniversary celebration gala event, Dhaka (03).JPG|thumb|Wales at the tenth-anniversary celebration of the [[Bengali Wikipedia]]]]

Wales has cited [[Austrian School]] economist [[Friedrich Hayek]]'s essay, "[[The Use of Knowledge in Society]]", which he read as an undergraduate,<ref name=knowitall/> as "central" to his thinking about "how to manage the Wikipedia project".<ref name=reasonmag/> Hayek argued that [[dispersed knowledge|information is decentralized]]—that each individual only knows a small fraction of what is known collectively—and that as a result, decisions are best made by those with local knowledge, rather than by a central authority.<ref name=reasonmag/> Wales reconsidered Hayek's essay in the 1990s while reading about the [[open source movement]], which advocated for the collective development and free distribution of [[free software|software]]. He was particularly moved by "[[The Cathedral and the Bazaar]]", an essay which was later adapted into a book of the same name, by one of the founders of the movement, [[Eric S. Raymond]], as it "opened [his] eyes to the possibilities of [[mass collaboration]]."<ref name=knowitall/>

From his background in finance, and working as a futures and options trader, Wales developed an interest in [[game theory]] and the effect of incentives on human collaborative activity. He identifies this fascination as a significant basis for his developmental work on the Wikipedia project.<ref name=humanities/> He has rejected the notion that his role in promoting Wikipedia is [[Altruism (ethics)|altruistic]], which he defines as "sacrificing your own values for others", and he states that the idea that "participating in a benevolent effort to share information is somehow destroying your own values makes no sense to me".<ref name=karasz/>
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=== European Court of Justice ruling ===

On May 14, 2014, Wales strongly reacted to the [[European Court of Justice]] (ECJ)'s ruling on the [[Google v. Gonzalez|right of individuals to request the removal of information from Google's search results]]. He stated to the BBC that the ruling was "one of the most wide-sweeping internet censorship rulings that I've ever seen".<ref>{{cite news |last = Lee |first = Dave |url = https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27407017 |title = Google ruling 'astonishing', says Wikipedia founder Wales |agency = BBC News |date = May 14, 2014 |access-date = December 26, 2017 |archive-date = September 13, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170913132334/http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27407017 |url-status = live }}</ref> In early June 2014, the ''TechCrunch'' media outlet interviewed Wales on the subject, as he had been invited by Google to join an advisory committee that the corporation had formed as an addition to the formal process that the ECJ requested from Google to manage such requests.<ref name="Nat">{{cite news |last = Lomas |first = Natasha |title = Jimmy Wales Blasts Europe's "Right To Be Forgotten" Ruling As A "Terrible Danger" |url = https://techcrunch.com/2014/06/07/wales-on-right-to-be-forgotten/?ncid=tcdaily |newspaper = TechCrunch |publisher = AOL Inc |access-date = June 9, 2014 |date = June 8, 2014 |archive-date = June 12, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/2014061.../wales-on-right-to-be-forgotten/?ncid=tcdaily |url-status = live }}</ref>

The May 2014 ECJ ruling required swift action from Google to implement a process that allowed people to directly contact the corporation about the removal of information that they believe is outdated or irrelevant. Google's [[Larry Page]] stated that 30 percent of requests received by Google since the ruling was made were categorized as "other". Wales explained in email responses that he was contacted by Google on May 28, 2014, and "The remit of the committee is to hold public hearings and issue recommendations—not just to Google but to legislators and the public."<ref name="Nat"/> When asked about his view on the ECJ's "right to be forgotten" ruling, Wales replied:

{{blockquote|quote=I think the decision will have no impact on people's [[right to privacy]], because I don't regard truthful information in court records published by court order in a newspaper to be private information. If anything, the decision is likely to simply muddle the interesting philosophical questions and make it more difficult to make real progress on privacy issues. In the case of truthful, non-defamatory information obtained legally, I think there is no possibility of any defensible "right" to censor what other people are saying. It is important to avoid language like "data" because we aren't talking about "data"—we are talking about the suppression
 
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