Jimmy Wales
Founder, Wikipedia
This episode premieres Thursday, July 2, 2026 at 7:00pm ET
“If you extend that trust to people, they tend to live up to it.”
Summary
There are few things more valuable, or more fragile, than trust. Across politics, journalism, and business, the last quarter-century has seen it steadily erode. It might come as a surprise, then, that one of the most trusted institutions of the internet age is a free encyclopedia that anyone can edit, defined by its willingness to extend trust to almost everyone.
On this episode of Leadership Matters, I sat down with Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation. From a career in finance to a failed first attempt at an online encyclopedia called Nupedia, Jimmy's path to building one of the world's most-visited websites was anything but linear. We discussed the wiki insight that unlocked everything after Nupedia stalled, why a volunteer-run community can outperform a top-down editorial hierarchy, and how Wikipedia has sought to protect its independence. We also explored the ideas in his new book, The Seven Rules of Trust, and what a low-trust society costs all of us in business and beyond.
In an age of deepfakes and zero-click answers, Jimmy makes a compelling case that trusted, human institutions matter more than ever — and that there is far more good in people than the algorithms would have us believe.
Mentions & Resources in this Episode
Guest Bio
Jimmy Wales is an internet entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as the founder of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that has become one of the most visited websites in the world. Since launching Wikipedia in 2001, Wales has helped pioneer a new model for creating and sharing knowledge, empowering millions of volunteers to build one of the largest collaborative projects in history. His debut book, The Seven Rules of Trust, was published in October 2025.
Wales is also the founder of the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit organization that supports Wikipedia and its sister projects, and the co-founder of Fandom, a leading platform for fan-created communities. Through these organizations, he has championed open access to information, digital collaboration, and the responsible stewardship of online communities on a global scale.
A graduate of Auburn University and the University of Alabama, Wales was appointed a fellow at Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society and has served on the board of Creative Commons. Throughout his career, he has been a leading voice on issues ranging from internet governance and free expression to the future of trust in the digital age.
His contributions have earned widespread international recognition. Wales was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, selected as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, awarded UNESCO’s Niels Bohr Medal, and recognized among The Daily Telegraph’s “25 Web Superstars.” He continues to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation and remains one of the world's foremost advocates for open knowledge and trustworthy information.