Biography
Social entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author who founded Free The Children at 12. Today he co-leads Legacy+ and co-hosts the My Legacy Podcast with his brother Marc, Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King.
Craig Kielburger is a Canadian social entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author, born on December 17, 1982, in Thornhill, Ontario. At 12 he founded Free The Children, which he and his older brother, Marc Kielburger, built into an international youth movement. Today Craig co-leads Legacy+, co-hosts the My Legacy Podcast with Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King, and serves as Chancellor of Legacy College.
Craig co-leads Legacy+, a Toronto-based organization of strategists, designers, storytellers and innovators that helps companies, foundations and individuals build movements and legacy projects with measurable impact. He co-hosts the My Legacy Podcast with Marc, Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King, syndicated on iHeartRadio and more than 100 stations, and serves as Chancellor of Legacy College in Kenya. He is also a co-founder of the Dalai Lama Center and writes about how artificial intelligence can make purpose-driven organizations more effective.
In 2026 Craig completed a PhD in Organizational Development and Change at Fielding Graduate University. The four co-authors' new book, Happiness vs. Fulfillment, is out November 10, 2026. For monthly updates, see what the Kielburger brothers are doing now.
In 1995, 12-year-old Craig read about Iqbal Masih, a boy his own age who was murdered after escaping child labour and speaking out against it. Craig gathered classmates and founded Free The Children. As a teenage guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show, he received a pledge from Oprah to help build 100 schools, and his story was featured on 60 Minutes.
With Marc, Craig grew Free The Children into an international movement, later known as WE, along with the WE Day stadium events and the social enterprise Me to We. Its programs empowered 200,000 students with education and 30,000 women through income initiatives, and brought healthcare and clean water to more than one million people across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Craig hosted more than 130 events in stadiums and arenas for 1.5 million students who earned their place through more than 40 million hours of service, with guests including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev, Elie Wiesel and Jane Goodall.
His honours include membership in the Order of Canada, the Nelson Mandela Human Rights Award, the Roosevelt Freedom Medal and the World's Children's Prize. Craig has partnered with Microsoft, Unilever, Walgreens and Allstate on social movements, and supported Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson and Sheryl Sandberg on personal legacy projects. He was named one of Canada's most trusted influencers in a Reader's Digest poll and, with Marc, one of Canada's Most Admired CEOs in the public sector. In 2012 the Halton District School Board named Craig Kielburger Secondary School in his honour.
Craig holds a PhD in Organizational Development and Change from Fielding Graduate University, a master's in human development, and a degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Toronto, and he is the youngest-ever graduate of the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA program. He has received 16 honorary doctorates.
Craig Kielburger has published 10 books, most with Marc, including the New York Times bestsellers Free the Children and Me to We. What Is My Legacy? Realizing a New Dream of Connection, Love and Fulfillment, written with Marc, Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King and featuring a foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, was released on Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2025. Their next book, Happiness vs. Fulfillment, is out November 10, 2026. See every title at kielburgerbooks.com.
Craig is the younger of the two Kielburger brothers. They have worked side by side for more than three decades and share honours including membership in the Order of Canada and a joint induction into Canada's Walk of Fame. Read Marc Kielburger's biography, the Kielburger story, or Craig's own site, craigkielburger.com.
craigkielburger.com · YouTube · LinkedIn · Instagram · Facebook · TikTok · Substack
Craig Kielburger is a Canadian social entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author. At 12, in 1995, he founded Free The Children, which grew with his brother Marc Kielburger into an international youth movement. Today he co-leads Legacy+ and co-hosts the My Legacy Podcast with Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King.
He co-leads Legacy+, a Toronto-based organization that builds purpose-driven movements and legacy projects, co-hosts the My Legacy Podcast on iHeartRadio, and serves as Chancellor of Legacy College. In 2026 he completed a PhD in Organizational Development and Change at Fielding Graduate University.
Craig Kielburger was born on December 17, 1982, in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada.
In 1995, at 12, he read about Iqbal Masih, a boy his own age who was murdered after escaping child labour and speaking out against it. He gathered classmates and founded Free The Children to fight child labour.
Founding Free The Children at 12, co-founding the WE Day youth events with his brother Marc, writing 10 books including New York Times bestsellers, and honours including the Order of Canada, the Nelson Mandela Human Rights Award and the World's Children's Prize.
Yes. In 2012 the Halton District School Board in Ontario named Craig Kielburger Secondary School in his honour.