Pierre Omidyar, a French-born Iranian-American billionaire, is renowned as the founder of eBay, a pioneer in online commerce.
His accidental success with eBay, initially an experiment on his personal web page, led to the creation of a global online trading community.
Omidyar’s philanthropic endeavors, including the Omidyar Network and initiatives like The Intercept, showcase his commitment to media, free speech and public service.
His journey from a computer science graduate to a tech entrepreneur exemplifies his impact on digital commerce and philanthropy.
Children
Omidyar has three children with his wife Pamela Kerr but not much is known about them, including their names or professions.
On the other hand, Omidyar’s wife is a biologist who grew up in Hawaii Kai and met Pierre in the United States.
The couple has been married for an unspecified number of years, though their exact wedding date is unknown.
Pamela has collaborated with her husband on philanthropic efforts, such as founding Enterprise Zimbabwe in 2010 alongside Pierre and the Nduna Foundation to improve Zimbabwe’s economy.
In 2007, a photo was taken of Pierre and Pamela Omidyar in Monterey, California.
Career
Omidyar is best known for founding eBay, one of the world’s largest online marketplaces.
He began writing the original code for eBay in 1995 and launched it as Auction Web, with the first item sold being his own broken laser pointer.
The company grew rapidly, hosting 250,000 auctions by the end of 1996 and 2 million in January 1997.
eBay was officially incorporated in 1996 and its name was changed to eBay in 1997.
Prior to eBay, Omidyar co-founded Ink Development, a pen-based computing startup later renamed eShop Inc.
In 1996, Microsoft acquired eShop for less than $50 million, earning Omidyar $1 million.
He also worked at Claris, an Apple Computer subsidiary, after graduating from Tufts University with a degree in computer science in 1988.
In 2002, eBay acquired PayPal, which it uses to process most of its online transactions.
Omidyar served as chairman of eBay from 1998 to 2015. He is still the company’s largest single shareholder, with a net worth of over $10 billion as of 2020.
Omidyar has also been actively involved in journalism and media, launching Honolulu Civil Beat in 2010, partnering with HuffPost to launch HuffPost Hawaii in 2013, and announcing the creation of First Look Media which launched The Intercept in 2014.
He has also served as an executive producer for films like Spotlight and Merchants of Doubt.
Net worth
Omidyar’s net worth is approximately $6.4 billion as of 2024. Forbes ranked him as the 245th-richest person in the world in 2023 with an estimated net worth of $8.7 billion.
His wealth is primarily tied to his ownership of eBay stock, with around 45,398,858 shares worth over $2.2 billion.
Additionally, he holds about 6% of PayPal, which was separated from eBay in 2015.
Omidyar’s net worth reached a peak of around $24 billion in late 2021 before declining to its current level.
Philanthropic efforts
Omidyar’s wife, Pamela Kerr Omidyar, has been involved in several philanthropic initiatives alongside her husband.
In 2004, Pamela and Pierre founded the Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing the power of markets to create opportunities for people to improve their lives.
In 2010, Pamela and Pierre, along with Richard Branson and the Nduna Foundation, established Enterprise Zimbabwe to improve Zimbabwe’s economy.
Through the Omidyar Network, Pamela and Pierre have committed more than $1 billion to causes ranging from entrepreneurship to human rights.
The Omidyars aim to create lasting social change by providing people around the world with the resources and opportunities they need to improve their lives.
