Photo: Joi 15:42, 2 August 2007 (UTC) / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
What strikes me about Pierre Omidyar is how thoroughly he moved past the thing that made him famous. Founding eBay in the 1990s would be enough of a legacy for most people, but he stepped back as chairman in 2015 and poured himself into philanthropy instead. I find the French-born, Iranian-American background quietly fascinating too, because it complicates the tidy Silicon Valley founder story we usually get. The Tufts education and that 2012 French National Order of Merit hint at someone whose reach went well beyond auctions and software. He reads to me as a builder who got more interested in giving money away than making it.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Pierre Omidyar
- Name (Japanese)
- ピエール・オミダイア
- Reading
- ぴえーる・おみだいあ
- Born
- June 21, 1967 (age 59)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Gemini / Goat
- Origin
- Paris, France
- Occupation
- philanthropist / entrepreneur / economist / programmer / computer scientist
2. Background
- University
- Tufts University
Awards & achievements
- White House Fellows
- 2012 Knight of the National Order of Merit
- 2006 Great Immigrants Award
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Pierre Omidyar born?
Born June 21, 1967 (age 59).
Where is Pierre Omidyar from?
Pierre Omidyar is from Paris, France.
What does Pierre Omidyar do?
Pierre Omidyar works as philanthropist, entrepreneur, economist, programmer, computer scientist.
Philanthropist — see all → · Entrepreneur — see all → · More people from France →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.