Marc Benioff Founder of Salesforce and Social Impact

Marc Benioff is a true pioneer in the world of tech, and his commitment to social impact is truly inspiring. He founded Salesforce in 1999 with a vision to revolutionize the way businesses interact with customers.

Marc's entrepreneurial spirit was sparked early on, and he dropped out of college to pursue his dreams. He sold his first company, a children's educational software company, to Apple for $5 million.

Benioff's focus on social impact has led to some amazing initiatives, including the 1-1-1 model, where Salesforce donates 1% of its equity, 1% of its products, and 1% of employee hours to charitable causes. This model has been incredibly successful, inspiring other companies to follow suit.

Today, Salesforce is a global leader in customer relationship management, with a market value of over $200 billion.

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Marc Benioff was born on September 25, 1964, in the San Francisco Bay Area.

He is of Jewish heritage, which is a significant part of his identity.

Marc's grandfather, Marvin Lewis, was a California trial attorney and member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors who championed the creation of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system.

Marc grew up in Hillsborough and graduated from Burlingame High School in 1982.

He then went on to receive a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the University of Southern California in 1986.

Marc was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity during his time at USC.

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Marc Benioff's career is a remarkable story of innovation and entrepreneurship. He sold his first application, How to Juggle, for $75 while in high school.

Benioff's early start in programming led him to found Liberty Software at just 15 years old, creating and selling games that helped him pay for college. He later interned at Apple, writing assembly code for the Macintosh.

At 23, Benioff was named Oracle's Rookie of the Year, a testament to his exceptional skills and dedication. He went on to become the youngest vice president in the company's history.

In 1999, Benioff founded Salesforce, defining its mission as "The End of Software" and revolutionizing the customer relationship management industry.

Salesforce was founded in 1999 by Marc Benioff from his San Francisco apartment.

Benioff's mission for Salesforce was to make a platform that allowed developers to create applications, which he achieved by extending Salesforce's offerings in the early 2000s.

In 2021, Benioff became co-CEO of Salesforce, a position he still holds as of 2024 when Salesforce is one of the biggest employers in San Francisco.

The company's growth is evident in its presence as the anchor tenant of Salesforce Tower, the tallest building in San Francisco.

In 2023, Benioff made headlines for announcing the mass dismissal of approximately 7,000 Salesforce employees via a two-hour all-hands meeting, which he later admitted was a 'bad idea'.

Benioff has co-written four books about business and technology. He collaborated with authors such as Karen Southwick and Carlye Adler on these projects.

In 2004, Benioff co-wrote Compassionate Capitalism: How Corporations Can Make Doing Good an Integral Part of Doing Well with Karen Southwick. This book was a significant contribution to the business and technology genre.

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In 2006, Benioff co-wrote The Business of Changing the World: 20 Great Leaders on Strategic Corporate Philanthropy with Carlye Adler. This book further showcased Benioff's expertise in business and technology.

Benioff also co-wrote Behind the Cloud: The Untold Story of How Salesforce.com Went from Idea to Billion-Dollar Company and Revolutionized an Industry in 2009, again with Carlye Adler. This book highlighted the success of Salesforce.com and its impact on the industry.

In 2019, Benioff co-wrote Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change with Monica Langley. The book became a New York Times bestseller.

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Marc Benioff has been recognized for his outstanding leadership and contributions to the business world. He was appointed co-chair of the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee by President George W. Bush in 2003.

Benioff's expertise and vision have earned him numerous accolades. In 2009, he was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

He received The Economist's Innovation Award in 2012. This recognition highlights his commitment to innovative thinking and problem-solving.

Benioff was voted "Businessperson of the Year" by Fortune readers in 2014. His leadership and entrepreneurial spirit have made a significant impact on the business world.

In 2016, Fortune named him one of the "World's 50 Greatest Leaders". This distinction acknowledges his ability to inspire and motivate others.

Benioff was recognized as one of the 10 Best-Performing CEOs by Harvard Business Review in 2019. His dedication to excellence and results-driven approach have earned him this prestigious recognition.

He was named CNN Business CEO of 2020, solidifying his position as a leading figure in the business world.

Marc Benioff's philanthropic efforts are truly inspiring. He founded the Salesforce Foundation, which uses a "1-1-1" approach to corporate philanthropy, giving one percent of employee time, product, and revenue to charitable causes.

The Benioffs have donated a total of $275 million to UCSF Children's Hospital from 2010 to 2019, funding research and creating the UCSF Benioff Center for Microbiome Medicine. This is a staggering amount that will undoubtedly make a significant impact on the lives of many.

In 2014, Benioff and Scott Farquhar founded Pledge 1%, a nonprofit focused on corporate philanthropy, where companies pledge one percent of their equity, product, or profit to charity. This initiative has made a huge difference in the way companies approach giving back.

The Benioffs have also donated $10 million to Stanford University for the Microbiome Therapies Initiative and $35 million to the University of California, San Francisco, to establish a prostate cancer research initiative. These donations demonstrate their commitment to supporting groundbreaking research and improving healthcare outcomes.

Since 2016, Benioff has donated over $80 million as part of the Benioff Ocean Science Initiative at the University of California at Santa Barbara. This initiative aims to protect and preserve our oceans, which is crucial for the health of our planet.

In January 2020, Benioff announced that he and his wife would provide financial backing for 1t.org, a global initiative to plant and conserve 1 trillion trees over the next decade. This is an ambitious goal that has the potential to make a significant impact on the environment.

The Benioffs have also been involved in various other philanthropic efforts, including the Benioff Ocean Initiative at the University of California Santa Barbara, the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, and the UCSF Benioff Initiative for Prostate Cancer Research. These initiatives demonstrate their commitment to addressing pressing social and environmental issues.

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In 2024, the Benioffs announced $150 million in gifts to medical centers on the islands of Hawai'i and O'ahu, enabling the two centers to expand access, build out critical areas of care, and support a continuum of care partnership with UCSF Health. This is one of the largest private donations in Hawai'i's history, and it will undoubtedly make a significant impact on the lives of many.

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Marc Benioff is a vocal advocate for progressive politics and social justice. He has been a major donor to the Democratic Party and its candidates, contributing over $800,000 as of 2014.

Benioff has also been a strong supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, canceling employee programs and travel in Indiana after the passing of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which led to a revised version of the bill being signed into law.

He has called for greater control over the use of tech products, likening Facebook to "the new cigarettes" and advocating for government regulation to combat misleading content.

Benioff is a major donor to the Democratic Party and its candidates, reportedly "bundling" approximately $500,000 to President Barack Obama's re-election campaign and contributing $300,000 to other Democratic candidates and party organizations as of 2014.

He has called for a new form of capitalism that focuses on the social good and stakeholders instead of shareholders, which he believes is a millennial view of the world. Millennials want meaning in work and to feel like they improve the state of the world.

Benioff has advocated for government regulation of social media platforms to combat allegedly misleading content, comparing Facebook to "the new cigarettes." He believes that tech company executives should exercise greater control over the use of their products.

Salesforce.com banned customers that sell firearms to private citizens from using its software in 2019, at Benioff's urging. This move was a response to concerns about gun violence and the role of tech companies in enabling it.

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Benioff supported San Francisco's 2018 Proposition C, which levied higher taxes on businesses to address homelessness, donating over $2 million to the campaign. He got into a public Twitter fight with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who opposed the law.

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act in Indiana was met with swift action from Benioff, who announced that Salesforce.com would provide relocation packages to employees and reduce investments in the state. The law was later amended to prohibit businesses from denying services to someone based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

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Benioff took steps to address the gender pay gap at Salesforce after it was raised by the company's chief personnel officer, Cindy Robbins, in 2015.

He dedicated $8 million between 2015 and 2017 to correct compensation differences by gender, race, and ethnicity across the company.

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Marc Benioff's philanthropic efforts have made a significant impact, but he's also faced criticism for his company's practices.

Benioff instituted the "1-1-1 model" of corporate philanthropy at Salesforce.com, contributing one percent of the company's equity, employee hours, and product to community organizations. This model has led to substantial donations, including a $30 million gift to the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF) to found the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative.

Benioff and his wife, Lynne, have given over $66 million to programs addressing homelessness in the Bay Area, including a $6.1 million gift to convert a hotel into housing for the homeless. This kind of commitment to addressing social issues is admirable.

However, Benioff's company, Salesforce, has also drawn criticism for its treatment of employees. In 2025, the company eliminated approximately 4,000 customer service roles, reducing its support workforce from 9,000 to about 5,000 employees. This decision has been seen as evidence of an industry-wide trend of replacing human jobs with automation.

Benioff has also faced criticism from liberal expansionist immigration activists after Salesforce.com signed a contract to provide software to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency.

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