Pierre Omidyar
American technology entrepreneur and philanthropist; founder of eBay
| Pierre Omidyar
| |
|---|---|
| Image | .jpg) Omidyar in 2007 |
| Born | 21 June 1967 (Forbes) Paris, France (Forbes) |
| Nationality | American |
| Residence | Honolulu, Hawaii (Forbes) |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist |
| Known for | eBay; Omidyar Network; First Look Media |
| Spouse(s) | Pam Omidyar (Forbes) |
| Children | 3 (Forbes) |
| Education | Tufts University (Forbes) |
Pierre Omidyar (born 21 June 1967) is an American technology entrepreneur and philanthropist. He founded the online auction company eBay in 1995 and served on its board until 2020.[1] On 10 November 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Omidyar 211th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$14.1 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as ebay, paypal.[1][2] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Omidyar 262nd, at US$11.8 billion.[3] With his wife Pam he founded the Omidyar Network in 2004. It combines a limited liability company with a 501(c)(3) foundation and says it has committed more than US$1.94 billion.[1][4] He also founded First Look Media, the original parent of The Intercept. According to Semafor, he decided in late 2022 to end his support for the outlet.[1][5]
Early life and eBay
Forbes says Omidyar was born in Paris and moved to the United States with his family at the age of six. He studied at Tufts University.[1] At 28 he wrote the code for a website called Auction Web. He renamed it eBay because his first choice, Echo Bay, was already taken.[1] In 2002 eBay bought the payments company PayPal, which it spun off in 2014.[1] Forbes says he gave away at least 9.6 million eBay shares a year from 2005 to 2020. In 2023 it reported that he owned about 5% of eBay and 6% of PayPal.[1][6] In March 2016 he set up a venture capital firm, Omidyar Technology Ventures, which he funds alone.[1]
Omidyar Network and The Omidyar Group
The Omidyar Network says it is funded solely and directly by the Omidyars and is part of The Omidyar Group, which brings together the founders' philanthropic, personal and professional interests. It concentrates on the United States while following technology policy in Europe.[4] Inside Philanthropy counted ten organisations founded by the couple in 2022. These include Imaginable Futures in education, the Democracy Fund and Luminate in governance and civic engagement, and First Look Media.[6] Forbes says the network's civic-engagement arm was spun off as Luminate in October 2018, having given out US$326 million.[1] Inside Philanthropy described the couple's approach, which it called "Omidyarism", as mixing 501(c)(3) grantmaking with the political giving and impact investing of an LLC. It reported that in 2019 the Pierre M. Omidyar Trust gave the Democracy Fund PayPal and eBay shares worth US$62.9 million. In 2020 the couple disclosed US$62 million in donations to 501(c)(4) groups.[6]
Media
Omidyar founded First Look Media, whose holdings have included The Intercept and the entertainment company Topic Studios.[1] In 2017 he set up the Press Freedom Defense Fund to support journalists and their sources in legal cases arising from their reporting.[1] Semafor reported in April 2024 that First Look Media had offered The Intercept a US$12 million grant in 2022 to help it become independent, later raised to US$14 million. By then the outlet was losing about US$300,000 a month.[5]
Property
Forbes says Omidyar owns stakes in resort properties in California and Mexico and is developing property in Cabo San Lucas.[1]
Political activity
In the 2022–2026 cycles FEC records show one itemised federal contribution: US$1 million to the ACLU Voter Education Fund in March 2024.[7] Inside Philanthropy noted that political giving runs through the network's LLC structure.[6]
Across the 1 non-memo records retrieved for the 2022–2026 cycles, the filtered total is US$1,000,000 (a lower bound). The largest recipient committees, as named in the filings, were ACLU VOTER EDUCATION FUND (US$1,000,000).[7]
| Cycle | Total (US$, lower bound) | Records | Largest recipient committees (as filed with the FEC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $1,000,000 | 1 | ACLU VOTER EDUCATION FUND ($1,000,000) |
Wealth
Forbes classes Omidyar as self-made, with wealth from eBay and PayPal.[1]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 26 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2001. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list, and, where applicable, the rank and estimate in the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans.[3][1]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) | Forbes 400 rank | Forbes 400 net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | – | – | 35 | 4.9 |
| 2001 | 82 | 4.5 | 36 | 4.6 |
| 2002 | 68 | 4.6 | 33 | 4.4 |
| 2003 | 59 | 5.0 | 29 | 6.9 |
| 2004 | 38 | 8.5 | 16 | 10.4 |
| 2005 | 35 | 9.9 | 18 | 10.2 |
| 2006 | 43 | 10.1 | 32 | 7.7 |
| 2007 | 76 | 8.8 | 32 | 8.9 |
| 2008 | 120 | 7.7 | 54 | 6.3 |
| 2009 | 156 | 3.6 | 40 | 5.5 |
| 2010 | 148 | 5.2 | 47 | 5.5 |
| 2011 | 145 | 6.7 | 50 | 6.2 |
| 2012 | 141 | 6.7 | 42 | 8.2 |
| 2013 | 123 | 8.7 | 47 | 8.5 |
| 2014 | 162 | 8.2 | 52 | 8.2 |
| 2015 | 168 | 8.0 | 57 | 8.0 |
| 2016 | 163 | 7.2 | 54 | 8.1 |
| 2017 | 166 | 8.0 | 48 | 9.6 |
| 2018 | 145 | 10.5 | 38 | 11.6 |
| 2019 | 120 | 11.4 | 36 | 13.1 |
| 2020 | 118 | 11.0 | 26 | 17.2 |
| 2021 | 83 | 21.4 | 26 | 25.3 |
| 2022 | 173 | 11.3 | 65 | 9.9 |
| 2023 | 223 | 8.8 | 164 | 6.4 |
| 2024 | 453 | 6.3 | 103 | 9.8 |
| 2025 | 264 | 10.2 | 100 | 12.2 |
| 2026 | 262 | 11.8 | 96 | 13.4 |
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
China
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Russia
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Other international links
Omidyar was born in France. Forbes says he owns stakes in resort property in Mexico and is developing property in Cabo San Lucas.[1] The Omidyar Network says it follows technology policy in Europe.[4]
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Pierre Omidyar (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/pierre-omidyar/) Forbes, live record, read 10 November 2026, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 10 November 2026 23:28 UTC, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Omidyar Network, Frequently asked questions Omidyar Network, n.d., accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Max Tani, The Intercept is running out of cash Semafor, 14 April 2024, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Inside Philanthropy, How Is “Omidyarism” Faring in an Age of Splashy Tech Giving? Inside Philanthropy, 28 January 2022, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 U.S. Federal Election Commission, OpenFEC Schedule A (itemised individual contributions) query, contributor name "OMIDYAR, PIERRE"; 2026 cycle shown in link, the 2022, 2024 and 2026 cycles were queried together with the same parameters; top 100 records by amount; records filtered by employer/occupation and name, memo entries excluded U.S. Federal Election Commission, data as filed; queried 10 November 2026, accessed 10 November 2026.