In 1998 Pierre Omidyar went from earning a ‘modest income’ to being one of the richest people in America in the space of a few days.
His huge wealth came from selling the online auction site he founded, eBay. He then went on to buy, develop and sell online payments firm PayPal.
This left him with a personal fortune of $21.6bn, the majority of which he has pledged to give away either during his lifetime, or in his estate when he dies.
Omidyar, 54, and his wife Pam have signed the Giving Pledge, an organisation which encourages the ultra-wealthy to donate their wealth to good causes.
In his pledge Omidyar revealed his admiration for startups and nonprofits who want to change society, writing: “We don’t just write checks; we engage deeply with the organizations we support to help them reach and improve the lives of millions, not just thousands.
“We invest in for profit businesses that serve overlooked populations with much-needed products and services.
“We reach out to like-minded investors and advocates to form coalitions that support issues that will benefit from a unified voice.”
Omidyar has so far donated $1.3bn to good causes through the Omidyar Group, which supports the couple’s business and philanthropic interests.
During the pandemic they donated $10m to relief efforts, including $1m to be spent in Hawaii, where they live.
And Luminate, their organisation focusing on citizen engagement, has so far given out $403m to 340 groups in 17 countries, supporting projects which they believe will make government, corporations, media and those in positions of power more responsive and more accountable.
One of these projects was funding People You May Know, a film made by the Financial Times which explores the impact of data gathering during the pandemic.
Martin Tisné, managing director at Luminate said: "The collective nature of data means people are more impacted by other people’s data than by data about them. As the film perfectly demonstrates: the energy readings on my thermostat, the video feed from my doorbell, even my satnav routes - these impact all of us.
“In the era of machine learning, individual denial of consent is close to meaningless. The Covid pandemic has accelerated this datafication.
“Our societies urgently need collective as well as individual data rights to chart a new course for the digital future we want to see."
To find out more visit the Luminate website or follow them on Twitter.
