Pierre Omidyar was born on June 21st, 1967 in Paris to an Iranian immigrant parents. The family shifted to the US when Omidyar was a child.
The bright kid that he was, Omidyar started showing interest in computers while in 9th grade. After high school, he joined Tufts University, and graduated with a BS in computer science. Soon after that, he started working for Claris, a subsidiary of Apple Computer.
Omidyar’s life as an innovator began in 1991, when he co-founded a start up called Ink Development. It was later rebranded as an e-commerce company, and renamed ‘eShop’.
Four years later, he founded the ‘Auction Web’, a service that facilitated buying and selling through the Internet. The growth of the company was very rapid, and within a year, Omidyar acquired a license to sell airplane tickets on the site.
In 1997, Auction Web turned into ‘eBay’. The success of eBay had also transformed Omidyar into a billionaire. Much before that, Omidyar had started donating money through the Omidyar Foundation which he founded in 2004, along with his wife Pamela. It mainly finances and helps smaller businesses to establish themselves, and make a difference in society.