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Christopher Hughes (born November 26, 1983) is an American entrepreneur and author who co-founded and served as spokesman for the online social directory and networking site Facebook until 2007. He was the publisher and editor-in-chief of The New Republic from 2012 to 2016.
Hughes co-founded the Economic Security Project (ESP) in 2016. In 2018, he published Fair Shot: Rethinking Inequality and How We Earn and in 2025 he published Marketcrafters: The 100-year Struggle to Shape the American Economy.
In February 2020, it was reported that Hughes was in the process of earning his Master of Arts in economics from The New School. He has since begun a Doctor of Philosophy in business ethics and legal studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
Hughes was unofficially responsible for beta testing and product suggestions. When the group had the idea to open Facebook to other schools, Hughes argued that schools should have their networks to maintain intimacy. He was also a key driver in developing many of Facebook's popular features, which led to the opening of Facebook to the outside world.
When Facebook's initial public offering took place in 2012, Hughes made $500 million.
Hughes was the executive director of Jumo, a non-profit social network organization he founded in 2010, which "aims to help people find ways to help the world". In July 2010, UNAIDS (Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) appointed him to a 17-member "High Level Commission" of renowned politicians, business leaders, human rights activists, and scientists tasked with spearheading a "social and political action campaign over the coming year aimed at galvanizing support for effective HIV prevention programmes."
The magazine was not profitable during Hughes' tenure. On January 11, 2016, Hughes put The New Republic up for sale, saying he had "underestimated the difficulty of transitioning an old and traditional institution into a digital media company in today's quickly evolving climate." Hughes' ownership of The New Republic was described by The New York Times as a "vanity project." He sold the magazine on February 26, 2016, to Oregon publisher Win McCormack.
In May 2019, he published an op-ed in the New York Times, calling for the break-up of Facebook and government regulation of content on it; in June of the same year, he criticized the Facebook decision to launch Libra (which was later renamed Diem), saying that the cryptocurrency "would shift power into the wrong hands if, at least, the coin be modestly successful".
Hughes and Sean Eldridge bought a $2 million residence in New York's 19th congressional district with the reported purpose of permitting Eldridge to run for the congressional seat there. In 2014, Eldridge lost his congressional bid by 29 points.
Hughes endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the run-up for the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
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