Jonah Peretti facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jonah Peretti
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Peretti in 2019
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| Born | January 1, 1974 |
| Education | University of California, Santa Cruz (BS) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS) |
| Employer | Contagious Media (2001–2006) The Huffington Post (2005–2011) BuzzFeed (2006–present) |
| Known for | BuzzFeed, The Huffington Post |
| Spouse(s) | Andrea Harner |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Chelsea Peretti (sister) Jordan Peele (brother-in-law) |
Jonah H. Peretti, born on January 1, 1974, is an American internet entrepreneur. This means he starts and runs businesses online. He is famous for co-founding two big websites: BuzzFeed and The Huffington Post. He also helped create the idea of "reblogging" content online, which is sharing content from one blog to another.
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Early Life and Education
Jonah Peretti grew up in Oakland, California. His father was a lawyer and painter, and his mother was a schoolteacher. He went to The College Preparatory School in Oakland.
After high school, he studied environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He earned his degree in 1996. Later, he taught computer science classes in New Orleans.
Peretti then went on to get a master's degree from the MIT Media Lab in 2001. While at MIT, he became known for an email exchange with Nike. He asked them to print "sweatshop" on custom shoes, and their refusal went viral online.
Building Internet Companies
Jonah Peretti has played a big part in creating popular websites. He co-founded The Huffington Post in 2005. He worked with people like Arianna Huffington to start this news and blog site.
He left The Huffington Post in 2011. This happened after the website was bought by AOL.
Starting BuzzFeed
In 2006, Peretti launched BuzzFeed. At first, BuzzFeed was known for fun content like internet memes and listicles (articles made of lists). It quickly became very popular.
After leaving The Huffington Post, Peretti focused all his energy on BuzzFeed. The site grew to include serious news reporting. For example, it was the first to report that John McCain would support Mitt Romney in the 2012 Republican primary election.
BuzzFeed continued to expand, getting millions of dollars from investors. By 2014, the company was valued at a very high amount.
Challenges at BuzzFeed
In 2019, Peretti announced that BuzzFeed would reduce its staff. He wanted to lower costs for the company. Later, the remaining employees formed a union to protect their rights.
In 2021, BuzzFeed made some changes to its HuffPost division. In 2023, BuzzFeed also shut down its news division, BuzzFeed News. Peretti explained that the company had invested a lot in BuzzFeed News because he believed in its mission.
Personal Life
Jonah Peretti is married to Andrea Harner. They have twin sons together. His younger sister is Chelsea Peretti, a well-known comedian, actress, and writer.
