Top Philanthropic Donors: Pierre and Pam Omidyar

The Omidyar Group represents the philanthropic, personal and professional interests of Pierre and Pam Omidyar. The Omidyars’ work and activities are wide-ranging, but united by a common set of values, a deeply rooted belief in humanity, the conviction that every person should be treated with respect and dignity, and a vision for positive change powered by the individual.

• Progress, not perfection • Change, not certainty • Impact, not idealism

Pierre Morad Omidyar was born June 21, 1967 is a French-born Iranian American entrepreneur and philanthropist, who is the founder and chairman of the eBay auction site. Omidyar and his wife Pam are well-known philanthropists who founded Omidyar Network in 2004 in order to expand their efforts beyond non-profits to include for-profits and public policy.

Omidyar was 28 when he sat down over a long holiday weekend to write the original computer code for what eventually became an internet superbrand, the auction site eBay. The site was launched on Labor Day, Monday, September 4, 1995, as "Auction Web"; it was hosted on a site Omidyar had created for information on the ebola virus. The word 'eBay' was made up on the fly by Omidyar when he was told that his first choice for his web site, 'echobay,' had already been registered. Not wanting to make a second trip to Sacramento, he came up with 'eBay.' The frequently repeated story that eBay was founded to help Omidyar's fiancée trade Pez candy dispensers was fabricated by a public relations manager in 1997 to interest the media. This was revealed in Adam Cohen's 2002 book and confirmed by eBay. Auction Web was later renamed "eBay". The service was free at first, but started charging in order to cover internet service provider costs.

Jeffrey Skoll joined the company in 1996. In March 1998, Meg Whitman was brought in as President and CEO and continued to run the company until January 2008 when she announced her retirement. In September 1998, eBay launched a successful public offering, making both Omidyar and Skoll billionaires. As of July 2008, Omidyar's 178 million eBay shares were worth around $4.45 billion. Omidyar is also an investor of Montage Resort & Spa in Laguna Beach, California.

Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing the power of markets to create opportunity for people to improve their lives. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, the organization invests in and helps scale innovative organizations to catalyze economic, social, and political change. To date, Omidyar Network has committed more than $270 million to for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations that foster economic advancement and encourage individual participation across multiple investment areas, including microfinance, property rights, government transparency, and social media.

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