The Online Auction King: Pierre Omidyar is Born
The Online Auction King: Pierre Omidyar is Born
Omidyar has come a long way since being born on June 21, 1967, in Paris, France, to Iranian immigrants. When he was six years old, his family moved to Washington, D.C., so his father – a physician – could take up residency at John Hopkins University Medical Centre. His parents separated when Omidyar was just two years old, and although he lived with his mother, his father was always a part of his life. It was while attending St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Maryland that Omidyar first developed an interest in computing. After moving to Hawaii to finish grades eight and nine, Omidyar returned to Washington to finish high school.
Because his family always seemed to be moving around, Omidyar was never in one place long enough to make a lot of friends his own age. “There weren’t a lot of kids around, and when I was younger I ended up hanging out with adults a lot more, because I had to,” he recalls. “I kind of grew up very quickly and became a little more mature more quickly than I see some of my relatives these days.”
Omidyar admits that he was the typical geek growing up. “I was actually interested in gadgets, little electronic gadgets,” he says. “I always managed to break them for one reason or another, of course, as kids do, and then I would take them apart and try to fix them, which I was never able to.” It was in third grade that Omidyar saw his first computer – a TRS-80 with 4K of memory. That would mark the end of the beginning.
From that point on, Omidyar did everything he could to spend time with computers and learn how to program them. “I was one of these guys that didn't really study, so I don't think I was a good student,” he says. “I used to actually cut gym and sneak into the computer room – which wasn't really a room, it was a closet where they kept the computer between classes – and played on the computer.”
Following high school, Omidyar enrolled in Tufts University, where he would graduate in 1998 with a degree in computer science. “I am very proud to say that I graduated from Tufts University with better than a 3.0 average. It was actually 3.01,” recalls Omidyar. “During my entire four years there at Tufts my GPA improved every single semester, which gives you an idea of where I started.”
Despite his less than stellar academic performance, Omidyar had little difficulty finding a job, and was promptly hired by Claris, a division of Apple Computer. Here, he worked on developing software for the Macintosh and helped write MacDraw. The position allowed Omidyar to indulge his passion for computers, but there was an entrepreneurial instinct within him that would not rest quiet for too long.
The Online Auction King Pierre Omidyar is Born
Like this article? Share it with your friends
“I started eBay as an experiment, as a side hobby basically, while I had my day job,” recalls Pierre Omidyar. An unexpected success, that side hobby has today become the world’s largest personal online trading community. The website hosts nearly four million auctions every day, with almost half a million new items being added for sale every 24 hours. Omidyar’s personal net worth is estimated to be roughly $10 billion.
Omidyar has come a long way since being born on June 21, 1967, in Paris, France, to Iranian immigrants. When he was six years old, his family moved to Washington, D.C., so his father – a physician – could take up residency at John Hopkins University Medical Centre. His parents separated when Omidyar was just two years old, and although he lived with his mother, his father was always a part of his life. It was while attending St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Maryland that Omidyar first developed an interest in computing. After moving to Hawaii to finish grades eight and nine, Omidyar returned to Washington to finish high school.
Because his family always seemed to be moving around, Omidyar was never in one place long enough to make a lot of friends his own age. “There weren’t a lot of kids around, and when I was younger I ended up hanging out with adults a lot more, because I had to,” he recalls. “I kind of grew up very quickly and became a little more mature more quickly than I see some of my relatives these days.”
Omidyar admits that he was the typical geek growing up. “I was actually interested in gadgets, little electronic gadgets,” he says. “I always managed to break them for one reason or another, of course, as kids do, and then I would take them apart and try to fix them, which I was never able to.” It was in third grade that Omidyar saw his first computer – a TRS-80 with 4K of memory. That would mark the end of the beginning.
From that point on, Omidyar did everything he could to spend time with computers and learn how to program them. “I was one of these guys that didn't really study, so I don't think I was a good student,” he says. “I used to actually cut gym and sneak into the computer room – which wasn't really a room, it was a closet where they kept the computer between classes – and played on the computer.”
Following high school, Omidyar enrolled in Tufts University, where he would graduate in 1998 with a degree in computer science. “I am very proud to say that I graduated from Tufts University with better than a 3.0 average. It was actually 3.01,” recalls Omidyar. “During my entire four years there at Tufts my GPA improved every single semester, which gives you an idea of where I started.”
Despite his less than stellar academic performance, Omidyar had little difficulty finding a job, and was promptly hired by Claris, a division of Apple Computer. Here, he worked on developing software for the Macintosh and helped write MacDraw. The position allowed Omidyar to indulge his passion for computers, but there was an entrepreneurial instinct within him that would not rest quiet for too long.
The Online Auction King Pierre Omidyar is Born
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
|||
John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
|||
Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
|||
|
For an online Car Loan Calculator and finance for a cheap car loan. Get approved on car loans or car finance in Australia with cheap bank car loans and finding a car finance broker. Commercial car loans including business car finance and car lease. Car Loan Calculator has information on finance companies and getting the right cheap car loan from banks at best car loan rates and a online car loan calculator for all finance in Australia. Get the best car finance with our help at Car Loan Calculator and Finance Ezi. - Visit Richard Jefferies's Website |
|||
Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
|||
Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
|
 | ||
 |
||
|
||
|
||
 | ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
 |
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
 |
 Your Annualized Bus Dev Plan Choice of Forum Why Business Owners Quit Different QuickBooks Versions Make $ From Your Invention |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 Productivity Blogs
Top Blogs To Watch In 2008 | |
 |
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009 | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
| ||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||