Linux supporters

Who makes and supports Linux?

The people who work on and maintain Linux come from several categories.

use it on their home computers
 * 1) independent enthusiast programmers (hackers) were the first to work on Linux just because they wanted to
 * including Linux's founder, Linus Torvalds
 * expert, guru programmers from MIT and the hacker free software community there laid most of the foundation of Linux
 * this core of independent programmers is still the "kernel" (no pun intended) of Linux
 * 1) professionals who maintain servers for a living submit patches to Linux because it is the quickest and easiest way to keep their servers running
 * (they may have cared about Linux very little, or even despised it)
 * 1) Linux companies
 * many Linux companies, totalling billions of dollars of worth
 * 1) volunteer programmers who contribute for many different reasons
 * based on political beliefs of communal sharing
 * 1) large companies
 * Including Google, Dell, IBM, Facebook, Twitter, Oracle

Any two of these groups would probably be enough to keep Linux going, maybe even any one group.

External references

 * IBM 100th anniversary page talking about their Linux support
 * Linux Foundation Members (286 companies!)