Jerry Yang
He co-created the internet's first true homepage, a portal that made the chaotic web navigable and fun for millions.
Born 1968 (age 58)·American programmer and entrepreneur·Birthday: November 6·Generation X
Biography
Jerry Yang arrived in California as a ten-year-old who spoke little English and, within two decades, helped define how a planet would go online. As a Stanford electrical engineering graduate student in 1994, he and David Filo started 'Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web' from a campus trailer. It was a simple, human-curated directory of interesting websites, born from their own hobby of exploring the nascent web. That personal project exploded into Yahoo!, a name chosen for its exuberant, joyful connotation. Under Yang's leadership as CEO, Yahoo! became far more than a directory; it was a gateway offering email, news, and community, embodying the early web's spirit of open discovery. While later challenged by more focused giants, Yang's vision of a centralized, welcoming starting point for the internet shaped the digital habits of a generation.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Jerry was born in 1968, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Jerry Was Born
The biggest hits of 1968
#1 Movie
2001: A Space Odyssey
Best Picture
Oliver!
#1 TV Show
The Andy Griffith Show
Jerry's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1968Born
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1973Started school
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1981Became a teenager
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1984Could drive
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1986Could vote
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1989Turned 21
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1998Turned 30
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 40
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 50
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 58 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Co-founded Yahoo! Inc., which became one of the first and most popular web portals in the 1990s.
- Led Yahoo! as CEO during its period of massive growth and its record-setting $1 billion investment in Alibaba in 2005.
- Founded AME Cloud Ventures, a venture capital firm focusing on data-centric technology startups.
- Served on the boards of major companies like Alibaba Group and Yahoo! Japan.
Did You Know?
He learned English by watching television shows like 'The Brady Bunch.'
His Yahoo! stock made him a billionaire before his 30th birthday.
He is a dedicated fan of the NHL's San Jose Sharks.
“We didn't build it to be a company. We built it because we thought it was interesting, useful, and fun.”
