Pierre Morad Omidyar was born on 21 June 1967, in Paris, France, of Iranian descent. Pierre is a philanthropist and entrepreneur, best known to be the founder of the auction site eBay, in which he served as Chairman for seven years. He has also recently ventured into journalism ventures such as First Look Media and the news service “Honolulu Civil Beat”. All his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Pierre Omidyar? As of late 2017, sources inform us of a net worth that is at $9.5 billion, mostly earned through the success of eBay. According to reports, he became a billionaire after eBay’s initial public offering (IPO) in 1998. He’s also been involved in film production work, and as he continues his endeavors, his wealth will likely increase.
Pierre Omidyar Net Worth $9.5 Billion Dollars
While attending The Potomac School in Virginia, Pierre’s interest in computers started. He then went to St. Andrew’s Epsicopal School, matriculating in 1984. Afterwards, he attended Tufts University and graduated with a degree in computer science, going on to work for Claris, which was an Apple subsidiary. In 1991, he made one of his first business ventures in co-founding Ink Development. The computing start-up would later become an e-commerce company, and was renamed as eShop.
In 1995, Pierre started to work on a code that would allow people to list their items on-line and engage in direct auctions. He launched the service called Auction Web, and it would eventually become the website eBay. The first item that was sold on the website was a broken laser pointer, and soon more unusual items started to appear. In order to earn money from the site, he collected a small fee from each sale which helped expand his enterprise. The following year, he signed a licensing deal to offer airline tickets online, and in 1997 the company would officially change its name to eBay, with Jeffrey Skoll and Meg Whitman also becoming part of the company. In 1998, eBay launched a public offering, which helped Omidyar become a billionaire, increasing his net worth dramatically, as the share price tripled on the first day, valuing the company at $1.9 billion.
In 2010, Pierre launched an investigative reporting service entitled “Honolulu Civil Beat” which as the name denotes, covered affairs in Hawaii. The site has since become one of the best news websites in the area, and it has also forged a partnership with The Huffington Post. He also launched First Look Media and “The Intercept”, after the Edward Snowden Leaks. Various journalists have joined the venture after its creation.
Aside from business ventures, Omidyar has also tried his hand at being an executive producer. He’s produced two films entitled “Merchants of Doubt” and “Spotlight”.
Omidyar is also known for his philanthropic work. He and his wife created the organization Omidyar Network which aims to help companies and organizations that help government transparency, social media, property rights, and other things.
For his personal life, Pierre married Pamela Kerr and they live in Henderson, Nevada. Multiple publications list him as one of the richest people in the world.
