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David Bohnett
(1956 - living) U.S.A.

David Bohnett

Businessman

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Bohnett has always been a self-starter. Originally from Chicago, he put himself through the Marshall School of Business at USC by being a waiter and delivering newspapers. He then got an MBA from the University of Michigan. He followed up his education with a few lucrative jobs in the computer industry, but became fascinated by the net and left to make his fortune his own way.

He discovered something others hadn't: if you involve net users in the process of creating content, they're more personally invested in the site. With that point in mind, Bohnett founded GeoCities, an online community divided into interest segments and designed and maintained by its own members. GeoCities' free web pages were a big hit, and soon they sprouted up on every subject, always built and updated by the members. GeoCities became publicly traded on NASDAQ in August of 1998, and was subsequently acquired by Yahoo! Inc. in May 1999.

Mindful that he had a responsibility to the community, Bohnett started the "Bohnett Foundation", which gives charitable donations to a number of causes including gay and lesbian rights, gun control, alternative fuel sources, and voter registration. Bohnett has been recognized as one of Time Digital's Top 50 Cyber Elite, one of Upside magazine's Elite 100, and one of Newsweek's "100 People to Watch in the Next Millennium." He was the recipient of the Entrepreneur of the Year award for Southern California in 1999. He has also been invited to the White House by President Bill Clinton as part of the administration's efforts to encourage the development of electronic commerce over the Internet.

His interests quickly turned into a lot of responsibility: founding an investment company, a lectureship in the UCLA department of computer science and school of law, various corporate boards, and the foundation of the David Bohnett CyberCenter in L.A. in conjunction with the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center. He was also named Chairman of the Board of gay.com, one of the Net's biggest LGBT websites. He has been awarded the prestigious Sheldon Andelson award for service to the LGBT community.

When not working, he can be found meandering around GeoCities in the science, technology, and family communities, and playing with trains, a favorite hobby. He and his significant other currently reside in Los Angeles, California.

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