Achievements
In just five years Pierre Omidyar’s project eBay attracted more than 1.5 billion page views per month, and hosted nearly 4 million auctions in more than 4,000 categories every day. The price of eBay stock has risen by as much as 1,400 percent since its initial public offering in 1998. In 2003, eBay enjoyed sales of over $2 billion.
Career Highlights
Born in Paris, France to Iranian parents, Omidyar moved to the US at the age of six. Growing up in Washington, D.C., he developed an interest in computing while still at St. Andrew's Episcopal School in Potomac, Maryland. In 1988 he graduated in computer science from Tufts University, and joined Claris, an Apple Computer subsidiary, where he helped write MacDraw. In 1991 he co-founded Ink Development, a pen-based computing startup. In 1995 he launched site named "Auction Web" which was later renamed to "eBay".
In September 1998, eBay launched a successful public offering, making Omidyar a billionaire — 3 years after its launch. In 2005, Omidyar's 214 million eBay shares were worth around $8 billion.
Leadership Experience
As founder and chairman of eBay, Pierre Omidyar changed the face of Internet commerce in 1995 when he launched Auction Web to experiment how equal access to information and opportunities would affect the efficiency of a marketplace. Ten years later, his experiment now called eBay continues to prove the benefits of a level playing field: hundreds of thousands of members make their living entirely on eBay, more than 150 million people trust strangers with every transaction, and people find common ground where none seemed to exist before.
Most of all, Omidyar emphasized the importance of community, and the values that he hoped would help to govern the users and staff at eBay. The five basic values he and his wife listed reveal the principles of his work at eBay and provide some indication of what he and his family will likely promote in the future through their philanthropic ventures. "We believe people are basically good," he said. "We believe everyone has something to contribute. We believe that an honest, open environment can bring out the best in people. We recognize and respect everyone as a unique individual. We encourage you to treat others the way that you want to be treated."'
Omidyar and his wife have donated $10 million to help launch Tufts University’s new College of Citizenship and Public Service, an initiative designed to "create a community of graduates who can combine successful careers with active participation in public service organizations for social and environmental causes, and politics."
Background Links
Jennifer Viegas, Pierre Omidyar: The Founder of Ebay (Internet Career Bios), 2007
