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DAN SIMON (NARRATING): Sal Khan lives in California,
outside of San Francisco.
Sara Shadid, halfway around the globe in Dubai.
Their lives are interconnected, but Khan doesn't know it.
This is a story about how one man
is helping to educate the world, but has never
seen any of his students face to face.
DAN SIMON: Where does this passion come from?
SALMAN KHAN: I think I've always enjoyed teaching.
DAN SIMON (NARRATING): It's about a man who
gave up a lucrative career in Silicon Valley
for what might look like a boring desk job.
SALMAN KHAN: Right now, I'm cash flow negative.
DAN SIMON (NARRATING): But it was never about money.
And with his drive and education,
Khan could have made millions.
He was valedictorian of his high school,
with a perfect math score on the SAT.
Then came MIT, Bill Clinton handing him his diploma.
Next, Harvard Business School.
He was lured into hedge funds and did well.
But Khan, who has a wife and son to support, gave it up.
SALMAN KHAN: A lot of people thought I was kind of crazy.
Obviously, when every waking hour you have
you would sneak into a room and make math videos
and put them on YouTube, people kind of question what's up.
DAN SIMON (NARRATING): Here's what's up --
Khan's YouTube videos.
SALMAN KHAN (ON YOUTUBE): Let's do a couple more examples,
and I think you might get it.
DAN SIMON (NARRATING): They've been clicked on more than 9
million times from users around the world.
The topics range from math to chemistry to economics.
SARA SHADID: From every curriculum,
they can use the videos.
He's really helpful.
DAN SIMON (NARRATING): One of his users,
19-year-old college sophomore Sara Shadid in Dubai.
She says the videos made all the difference
in helping her conquer calculus.
SARA SHADID: Before each and every exam,
I take two days checking all of his videos
and understanding the small details he explains.
DAN SIMON: This gigantic virtual school
originates from the smallest of places,
from a tiny converted closet inside Sal's master bedroom.
This is where he's able to reach an estimated 80,000
knowledge-seeking users a month.
DAN SIMON (NARRATING): It all started a few years ago
when a cousin wanted some online math tutoring.
Pretty soon, other relatives started
asking for similar help.
Suddenly, people he didn't know started watching.
DAN SIMON: People must have put in math terms,
and suddenly they find you.
SALMAN KHAN: Yeah, I think that's just completely right.
It's that small subset of people who
go to YouTube and do a web search for greatest
common divisor.
DAN SIMON (NARRATING): People did it, and it caught on.
It's now called the Khan Academy.
The videos are short and simply produced-- only his voice--
SALMAN KHAN (ON VIDEO): So that's your slope of the--
DAN SIMON (NARRATING): With a simple black background
and graphics.
SALMAN KHAN: There are a lot of people
who need help with math, science, whatever.
And I think they find these YouTube videos
as kind of the ideal nuggets to fill in their gaps.
DAN SIMON (NARRATING): These mini classes
filled in Sara Shadid's gaps, who says she and her friends
refer to Khan as the man with the colored fonts.
Whatever you call him or his teachings,
the success of his site has validated that decision
to walk away from hedge funds.
Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.