Sal Khan
Sal Khan is the educator and video creator behind Khan Academy, an author, and TED’s vision steward, working to make learning accessible to anyone, anywhere.
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Latest
Sal’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus his backstory and Starbook, where fans write.
Known for
Viking
TED
Twelve
TEDOverview
- Work
- Educator, video creator, author, and nonprofit founder
- Roots
- New Orleans area, Louisiana
- Education
- Three degrees from MIT and an MBA from Harvard Business School
- How it started
- Remotely tutoring his cousin Nadia in 2004
- Full-time leap
- Left his hedge fund job in 2009 to focus on Khan Academy
- Also building
- Schoolhouse.world, Khan Lab School, and Khan World School
Mini bio
How it started.
Before millions of learners knew his voice, Sal was helping one cousin. In 2004, Nadia was struggling with math in New Orleans while he was living in Boston. He began tutoring her remotely, then helped other relatives and posted videos they could revisit at their own pace.
Taking the leap.
The videos reached people beyond his family. In his 2011 TED talk, Sal recalled that his cousins preferred the recordings because they could pause and repeat without embarrassment. He turned the work into a nonprofit in 2008 and left his hedge fund job in 2009. His early lessons grew into Khan Academy’s library of free learning resources.
Beyond the videos.
Sal’s work keeps returning to a simple idea: learners should be able to master material at their own pace. He explored education reform in The One World Schoolhouse, founded Khan Lab School, and started Schoolhouse.world in 2020 to connect students through free live peer tutoring.
The next questions.
His 2023 TED talk demonstrated Khanmigo, and his 2024 book Brave New Words explored AI’s role in learning and teaching. In 2025 he became TED’s vision steward. In April 2026, Khan Academy, TED, and ETS announced the Khan TED Institute, bringing his interest in mastery and access into higher education.
Creditschronological, newest first
Books
Education and ideas
- 2026Khan TED Institute announcementKhan Academy founder and CEO; TED vision steward
- 2025TEDVision steward
- 2020Schoolhouse.worldFounder
- 2014Khan Lab SchoolFounder
- 2008Khan Academy nonprofitFounder
Awards
- Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Johns Hopkins University2025 · Conferred at the May 22 commencement, where he delivered the address.
- Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Carnegie Mellon University2025 · Honored at the May 11 commencement, where he was the keynote speaker.
- TIME 1002012 · Named among TIME’s 100 most influential people, with a tribute by Bill Gates.
Quotes
First, don’t just follow your dreams, have dreams and take them seriously.Sal Khan, Johns Hopkins University commencement address
Advice to the Class of 2025 during his May 22 commencement speech.
Trivia
- His earliest audience was his own family, and his cousins told him they preferred being able to pause and replay his videos.
- As an MIT undergraduate, he developed math software for children with ADHD and tutored Boston public school students.
- Bill Gates wrote his 2012 TIME 100 tribute and said he had used Khan Academy with his own children.
- Schoolhouse.world began during the pandemic with the idea that students could support one another through live tutoring.
Find Sal
Follow Sal’s posts and the lessons and conversations he shares through Khan Academy.
Are you Sal Khan?
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