Photo: Salesforce. / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Marc Benioff is one of those rare founders who actually changed how entire industries think — not just how they operate. He grew up in San Francisco, went to USC, and then had the audacity to bet the whole game on cloud software when most enterprise companies were still mailing out CD-ROMs. Salesforce became the template that proved subscription-based SaaS could scale to the stratosphere, and honestly, I don't think enough people give him credit for that. Beyond the business wins, he's genuinely walked the talk on corporate responsibility and philanthropy in ways that feel less like PR and more like actual conviction. And then France hands him the Legion of Honour in 2022 — at that point you're not just a tech CEO anymore, you're a whole institution.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Marc Benioff
- Name (Japanese)
- マーク・ベニオフ
- Reading
- まーく・べにおふ
- Born
- September 25, 1964 (age 61)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Libra / Dragon
- Origin
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Occupation
- businessperson / chief executive officer / chairperson / Internet entrepreneur / philanthropist
2. Background
- High school
- Burlingame High School
- University
- University of Southern California
Awards & achievements
- 2022 Knight of the Legion of Honour
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Marc Benioff born?
Born September 25, 1964 (age 61).
Where is Marc Benioff from?
Marc Benioff is from San Francisco, California, United States.
What does Marc Benioff do?
Marc Benioff works as businessperson, chief executive officer, chairperson, Internet entrepreneur, philanthropist.
Businessperson — see all → · Chief executive officer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.