Changes

Wales was caught editing his own profile on Wikipedia in a bit of a scandal in an effort to downplay [[Larry Sanger]]'s role in the company and distance himself from his Bomis past.<ref>[https://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,69880,00.html ''Wikipedia Founder Edits Own Bio''] Wired. Accessed 17 March 2008</ref>

Wales was caught editing his own profile on Wikipedia in a bit of a scandal in an effort to downplay [[Larry Sanger]]'s role in the company and distance himself from his Bomis past.<ref>[https://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,69880,00.html ''Wikipedia Founder Edits Own Bio''] Wired. Accessed 17 March 2008</ref>

In 2014, Wales accepted a new job as executive director of strategy and digital community for [[The People’s Operator]] (TPO), a cell phone startup company with ties to the British [[Labour Party]]. Wales owned 10% of the new company. TPO struggled to gain subscribers in the UK and the United States,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/telecoms/11156163/Wikipedia-founder-to-float-mobile-phone-company.html|title=

In 2014, Wales accepted a new job as executive director of strategy and digital community for [[The People’s Operator]] (TPO), a cell phone startup company with ties to the British [[Labour Party]]. Wales owned 10% of the new company. TPO struggled to gain subscribers in the UK and the United States,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/telecoms/11156163/Wikipedia-founder-to-float-mobile-phone-company.html|title=

Wikipedia founder to float mobile phone company|first=Graham|last=Ruddick|work=The Telegraph|date=October 11, 2014|accessdate=October 14, 2014}}</ref> and it has lost over 90% of its market capitalization.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sharesmagazine.co.uk/news/shares/the-peoples-floperator|title=

Wikipedia founder to float mobile phone company|first=Graham|last=Ruddick|work=The Telegraph|date=October 11, 2014|accessdate=October 14, 2014}}</ref> and it has lost over 90% of its market capitalization.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sharesmagazine.co.uk/news/shares/the-peoples-floperator|title=

The People's Floperator|first=Steven|last=Frazer|work=Shares Magazine|date=September 30, 2016|accessdate=April 25, 2017}}</ref>  Wales became the Chairman of TPO's Board of Directors upon the death of its founder, [[Andrew Rosenfeld]] on February 8, 2015.  Wales then ran TPO into the ground while drawing an impressive salary.  On January 25, 2017, Wales stepped down from leading TPO.<ref>http://www.investegate.co.uk/the-people-soperator--tpop-/rns/board-changes--subscription---trading-update/201701250700070218V/</ref>

The People's Floperator|first=Steven|last=Frazer|work=Shares Magazine|date=September 30, 2016|accessdate=April 25, 2017}}</ref>  Wales became the Chairman of TPO's Board of Directors upon the death of its founder, [[Andrew Rosenfeld]] on February 8, 2015.  Wales then ran TPO into the ground while drawing an impressive salary.  On January 25, 2017, Wales stepped down from leading TPO.<ref>http://www.investegate.co.uk/the-people-soperator--tpop-/rns/board-changes--subscription---trading-update/201701250700070218V/</ref>

In order to replace TPO as his source of income, in April 2017, Wales decided to found a for-profit news organization, WikiTribune.  According to the BBC, "Mr Wales said he would be '100% hands-on' with the project in its early stages and would be likely to serve as Wikitribune's chief executive for at least a year."<ref name=bbc1>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-39695767|title=Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales creates news service Wikitribune|work=BBC|date=April 25, 2017|accessdate=May 16, 2017}}</ref>  In addition to paying Wales a salary, WikiTribune will hire ten professional journalists and also work with volunteer editors and fact checkers.  Unlike Wikipedia which is owned by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, WikiTribune is owned by Jimmy Wales Ltd, a private company.  WikiTribune is being financed by crowd-sourcing with both startup donations and pledges of monthly subscription payments.  Because of the obvious conflict between WikiTribune and The Guardian, Wales was forced to resign from the Guardian's board, where he had been serving for one year.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/04/25/wikipedia-co-founder-jimmy-wales-exits-guardian-board-conflict/|title=Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales exits Guardian board over conflict of interest with Wikitribune news site |work=The Telegraph|date=April 25, 2017|accessdate=May 16, 2017}}</ref>  To date, he has not been forced to resign from either the WMF Board or the Tide Foundation's WMF Endowment Advisory Board. Wales' advisors on WikiTribune include: Silicon Valley venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki,

In order to replace TPO as his source of income, in April 2017, Wales decided to found a for-profit news organization, WikiTribune.  According to the BBC, "Mr Wales said he would be '100% hands-on' with the project in its early stages and would be likely to serve as Wikitribune's chief executive for at least a year."<ref name=bbc1>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-39695767|title=Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales creates news service Wikitribune|work=BBC|date=April 25, 2017|accessdate=May 16, 2017}}</ref>  In addition to paying Wales a salary, WikiTribune will hire ten professional journalists and also work with volunteer editors and fact checkers.  Unlike Wikipedia which is owned by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, WikiTribune is owned by Jimmy Wales Ltd, a private company.  WikiTribune is being financed by crowd-sourcing with both startup donations and pledges of monthly subscription payments.  Because of the obvious conflict between WikiTribune and The Guardian, Wales was forced to resign from the Guardian's board, where he had been serving for one year.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/04/25/wikipedia-co-founder-jimmy-wales-exits-guardian-board-conflict/|title=Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales exits Guardian board over conflict of interest with Wikitribune news site |work=The Telegraph|date=April 25, 2017|accessdate=May 16, 2017}}</ref>  To date, he has not been forced to resign from either the WMF Board or the Tide Foundation's WMF Endowment Advisory Board. Wales' advisors on WikiTribune include: Silicon Valley venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki,

Journalism lecturer Prof Jeff Jarvis,

Journalism lecturer Prof Jeff Jarvis,

US law professor Larry Lessig, and

US law professor Larry Lessig, and

On December 14, 2012, WND columnist Judith Reisman defended heavy-metal drummer Bradlee Dean, who had been unfairly attacked on Wikipedia. She wrote,

On December 14, 2012, WND columnist Judith Reisman defended heavy-metal drummer Bradlee Dean, who had been unfairly attacked on Wikipedia. She wrote,

<blockquote>"Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia’s creator, made his original fortune as a pornography trafficker. Wales’ cult of far-leftist volunteer editor zealots labor minute-by-minute to mislead readers who think Wikipedia’s half-truths – and worse – are a legitimate 'encyclopedia.'"</blockquote>

<blockquote>"Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia’s creator, made his original fortune as a pornography trafficker. Wales’ cult of far-leftist volunteer editor zealots labor minute-by-minute to mislead readers who think Wikipedia’s half-truths – and worse – are a legitimate 'encyclopedia.'"</blockquote>

Wales sent an email in response claiming, "I have never been a 'pornography trafficker' at all." Instead of posting a correction WND posted detailed documentation which includes a posed photo of Wales flanked by two mostly undressed female models.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wnd.com/2012/12/heres-your-correction-wikipedia-founder/|title=Here's Your Correction, Wikipedia Founder|date=December 17, 2012|accessdate=December 26, 2012|work=WND}}</ref>

Wales sent an email in response claiming, "I have never been a 'pornography trafficker' at all." Instead of posting a correction WND posted detailed documentation which includes a posed photo of Wales flanked by two mostly undressed female models.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wnd.com/2012/12/heres-your-correction-wikipedia-founder/|title=Here's Your Correction, Wikipedia Founder|date=December 17, 2012|accessdate=December 26, 2012|work=WND}}</ref>

Some people start discussions on [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Jimbo_Wales his user talk page] much as supplicants approach a monarch.  In response, he might engage in a discussion, promise "to look into it", or simply delete it.<ref>E.g., {{cite web|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Jimbo_Wales&diff=prev&oldid=30754316|title= Speaking of "Unreadable Crap"|date=Dec. 5, 2005|accessdate=Sept. 20, 2013}}</ref>  However, the number of deletions and users banished from his talk page have increased in 2013.

Some people start discussions on [https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Jimbo_Wales his user talk page] much as supplicants approach a monarch.  In response, he might engage in a discussion, promise "to look into it", or simply delete it.<ref>E.g., {{cite web|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Jimbo_Wales&diff=prev&oldid=30754316|title= Speaking of "Unreadable Crap"|date=Dec. 5, 2005|accessdate=Sept. 20, 2013}}</ref>  However, the number of deletions and users banished from his talk page have increased in 2013.

Wales has had a turbulent private life.  Prior to starting Wikipedia, Wales was a minority partner in Bomis, which provided adult photographs for a male audience.  As Wikipedia's fame grew, Wales traveled without his family around the world to promote it.  He created controversy when he sought travel reimbursement from the Wikimedia Foundation for a trip to a Russian massage parlor.  Wales then established Wikia, a new for-profit venture with Angela Beesley.  When the Foundation grew to the point that it could afford a paid staff, Wales ensured that a number of women were hired for management roles, including all three Executive Directors, Sue Gardner, Lila Tretikov and Katherine Maher.  Wales also became romatically involved with a number of women, both before and after his divorces.  Wales has been married three times. At the age of twenty, he married Pamela Green,<ref name=Chozick-2013-06-30>{{cite news|last=Chozick|first=Amy|title=Jimmy Wales Is Not an Internet Billionaire|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/magazine/jimmy-wales-is-not-an-internet-billionaire.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 30, 2013}}</ref> a co-worker at a grocery store in Alabama. They divorced in 1993. He met his second wife, Christine Rohan,  while she was working as a steel trader for [[Mitsubishi]].  They were married in March 1997,<ref>{{cite book | title=Jimmy Wales and Wikipedia | publisher=[[Rosen Publishing]] | author=Meyer, Susan | year=2013 | page=27}}</ref> and had a daughter before separating. Wales had a brief relationship with Canadian conservative columnist [[Rachel Marsden]] in 2008 that began after Marsden contacted Wales about her Wikipedia biography.  Wales later broke up with Marsden over the internet.  Marsden was so angered by Wales that she put an item of intimate apparel up for auction on [[eBay]].

Wales has had a turbulent private life.  Prior to starting Wikipedia, Wales was a minority partner in Bomis, which provided adult photographs for a male audience.  As Wikipedia's fame grew, Wales traveled without his family around the world to promote it.  He created controversy when he sought travel reimbursement from the Wikimedia Foundation for a trip to a Russian massage parlor.  Wales then established Wikia, a new for-profit venture with Angela Beesley.  When the Foundation grew to the point that it could afford a paid staff, Wales ensured that a number of women were hired for management roles, including all three Executive Directors, Sue Gardner, Lila Tretikov and Katherine Maher.  Wales also became romatically involved with a number of women, both before and after his divorces.  Wales has been married three times. At the age of twenty, he married Pamela Green,<ref name=Chozick-2013-06-30>{{cite news|last=Chozick|first=Amy|title=Jimmy Wales Is Not an Internet Billionaire|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/magazine/jimmy-wales-is-not-an-internet-billionaire.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 30, 2013}}</ref> a co-worker at a grocery store in Alabama. They divorced in 1993. He met his second wife, Christine Rohan,  while she was working as a steel trader for [[Mitsubishi]].  They were married in March 1997,<ref>{{cite book | title=Jimmy Wales and Wikipedia | publisher=[[Rosen Publishing]] | author=Meyer, Susan | year=2013 | page=27}}</ref> and had a daughter before separating. Wales had a brief relationship with Canadian conservative columnist [[Rachel Marsden]] in 2008 that began after Marsden contacted Wales about her Wikipedia biography.  Wales later broke up with Marsden over the internet.  Marsden was so angered by Wales that she put an item of intimate apparel up for auction on [[eBay]].

Wales married [[Kate Garvey]] in [[London]] on October 6, 2012.<ref>{{cite news|last=Donnelly|first=Laura|title=Wiki wedding: Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales marries Tony Blair's former aide|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9591824/Wiki-wedding-Wikipedia-founder-Jimmy-Wales-marries-Tony-Blairs-former-aide.html#|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|date=October 6, 2012}}</ref> Garvey is [[Tony Blair]]'s former diary secretary, whom Wales met in [[Davos]], Switzerland. Wales and Garvey have two daughters.

Wales married [[Kate Garvey]] in [[London]] on October 6, 2012.<ref>{{cite news|last=Donnelly|first=Laura|title=Wiki wedding: Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales marries Tony Blair's former aide|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9591824/Wiki-wedding-Wikipedia-founder-Jimmy-Wales-marries-Tony-Blairs-former-aide.html#|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|date=October 6, 2012}}</ref> Garvey is [[Tony Blair]]'s former diary secretary, whom Wales met in [[Davos]], Switzerland. Wales and Garvey have two daughters.

==References==

==References==