James H. Clark (Jim Clark) Clark was born in Plainview, Texas and dropped out of high school after being suspended. He then spent 4 years in the Navy. He earned a Masters degree in Physics and a PhD in computer science from the University of Utah. In 1979 James Clark accepted a position at Stanford University as an associate professor of electrical engineering.
James Clark formed Silicon Graphics, Inc. in 1982 along with 6 graduate students and Abbey Silverstone. Silicon Graphics evolved into UNIX-based computers with fast graphics rendering hardware. Silicon Graphics computers became the world leader in the production of movie visual effects and 3D imaging.
After a split with Silicon Graphics in 1994, James Clark and Marc Andreessen (creator of the Web browser Mosaic) founded Netscape. It is estimated that Netscape held 80% of the internet browser market in 1998. In 1995 Microsoft introduced Windows 95 with Internet Explorer free of charge which caused a huge disadvantage for Netscape. In 1998 Netscape was forced to make their browser free. The Mozilla project began and AOL bought Netscape.
In 1999 James Clark launched myCFO, a company that helps wealthy people manage their fortunes. He sold the company to Harris Bank in 2002. In 2000 James Clark became the chairman and financial backer of Neoteris. Neoteris was acquired by NetScreen in 2003. In 2009 James Clark co-produced the Academy Award-winning documentary, The Cove. Today James Clark is worth nearly $900 million.