Pierre Omidyar

Early life

Omidyar was born as Parviz Morad Omidyar in Paris. His family later moved to America when he was a child. He spent part of his early years in Honolulu and attended Punahou School for two years. He also attended The Potomac School in Virginia and St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Maryland, where he graduated from high school in 1984.

He became interested in computers during his early teen years. In 1988, he graduated with a degree in computer science from Tufts University. His education set him up for a successful career as a software developer and entrepreneur.

Career

Omidyar started working for a company called Claris (an Apple Computer subsidiary) shortly after graduating from Tufts. He worked with a team that upgraded MacDraw to MacDraw II. 

In 1991, he co-founded Ink Development, a firm that originally found its footing in pen-based computing. The business later transitioned to e-commerce and became eShop Inc. Microsoft acquired eShop in 1996 for less than $50 million. Omidyar earned roughly $1 million from the transaction.

Omidyar’s biggest career milestone happened in 1995. At age 28, he wrote the initial code for an online marketplace where people can auction off listed items. He named the service AuctionWeb on September 4, 1995. 

The first item sold through the site was a broken laser pointer. The buyer said they purchased the item to add to their collection of broken laser pointers. The unexpected sale demonstrated the potential for an online store where people could find buyers for various goods. 

AuctionWeb grew quickly. By 1996, the site had hosted approximately 250,000 auctions. By January 1997, that number reached 2 million. Later that year, the platform was hosting nearly 800,000 daily auctions.

In 1997, Omidyar changed the company name to eBay. The firm launched an ad campaign while it kept growing. eBay went public in September 1998, making Omidyar and his colleague Jeffrey Skoll billionaires. Omidyar served as chairman of eBay and stayed on its board until 2020. He now holds the honorary title of director emeritus.

Omidyar later entered the journalism and media industry. In 2010, he launched Honolulu Civil Beat, an investigative news service covering civic affairs in Hawaii. In 2013, he announced First Look Media, a journalism venture that later launched The Intercept.

He also became a movie producer, working on documentaries such as Merchants of Doubt and Spotlight.

Philanthropy became another big part of Omidyar’s career. In 2004, he and his wife, Pamela Omidyar, founded the Omidyar Network, a charitable investment firm that supports organizations focused on property rights, governance and citizen engagement, education, financial inclusion, and consumer and internet technology. The Omidyar Group also combines various business and charitable initiatives associated with the couple.

Omidyar has also supported projects related to journalism, digital rights, and competition in the tech industry. In 2018, the Luminate Group was established as an information platform connected to the Omidyar philanthropic network.

Net Worth

According to Forbes, Pierre Omidyar’s approximate net worth is $13.5 billion USD, as of September 2026.