Druti
The Iranian economy is distinguished by its petroleum, agricultural, and service industries and a significant state presence in manufacturing and financial services. Iran has the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves and the fourth-largest proven crude oil reserves. While remarkably diverse for an oil-exporting country, economic activity and government income have been turbulent and continue to rely on oil earnings. Amongst all the turbulence, a man stands to be the richest person in Iran and has a significant position in the Billionaire’s index. So, the richest person in Iran is Pierre Omidyar.
Pierre Omidyar, born Parviz Morad Omidyar, is a French-born Iranian-American millionaire. He founded eBay, where he served as chairman from 1998 to 2015. He is a technology entrepreneur, software engineer, and philanthropist.
He has worked in internet media, better known as Online Journalism. He was the chief of investigative reporting and public affairs news service Honolulu Civil Beat since 2010. He announced in 2013 that he would establish and fund First Look Media, a journalism company involving Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, and Jeremy Scahill.
As of September 2023, the richest person in Turkey, Pierre Omidyar, has a net value of $9.33B.
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Early life of the richest person in Iran
Omidyar founded eBay, an online marketplace with around 147 million active buyers and over 1.5 billion live listings. In 2021, the San Jose-based company facilitated the sale of $87 billion items and recorded $10.4 billion in revenue. In 2015, it spun off the internet payment provider PayPal.
After graduation, Pierre began working for Claris, an Apple Computer subsidiary. He was a member of the team that improved MacDraw to MacDraw II. In 1991, he co-founded Ink Development, a pen-based computing startup that was eventually rebranded and called eShop Inc.
On June 11, 1996, Microsoft purchased eShop for less than $50 million, and Omidyar gained $1 million from the transaction.
e-Bay and Omidyar
At 28, the present richest person in Turkey began writing the original computer code for an online venue that would allow the listing of an auction for collectable objects in 1995. On his website, he produced a rudimentary prototype. On Monday, September 4, 1995, he established Auction Web on Labour Day, which would later evolve into the auction site eBay.
Initially, the service was one of several goods on Omidyar’s website, eBay.com. His website also included a section on the Ebola virus, among other things.
A damaged laser pointer was the first item sold on eBay. He was very unsure about anyone paying for a damaged laser pointer, but the buyer informed him that he was purposefully collecting faulty laser pointers. Similar surprises ensued. As correspondents began registering trade commodities of unfathomable variety, the business expanded.
Omidyar founded the company, and his tiny commission on each sale helped fund the site’s growth. The earnings quickly outstripped his pay at General Magic, and Omidyar decided to devote his full attention to his new venture nine months later.
When Omidyar secured a licensing agreement to sell airline tickets online in 1996, the site had conducted 250,000 auctions. It hosted two million visitors in the first month of 1997. By the end of that year, eBay was hosting approximately 800,000 auctions daily.
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Family life of Pierre Omidyar
Pierre was born to Iranian parents, Elahé Mir-Djalali Omidyar and Cyrus Omidyar. His mother is an academic with a doctorate in linguistics from the Sorbonne. His father is a surgeon with his medical education and training in France. Both parents moved to France when they were young for better educational opportunities.
When he was a child, his family moved to the United States, where his father was a urologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He currently works in Aliso Viejo, California.
Omidyar spent two years at Punahou School in Honolulu. He subsequently began his undergraduate studies at Tufts University and completed them at the University of California, Berkeley, earning a B.S. in computer science in 1988.
Omidyar and his wife, Pamela, jointly have properties. Some of which are in Henderson, Nevada, and Honolulu, Hawaii. He is a significant contributor to Democratic Party candidates and organisations. Omidyar is a Dalai Lama disciple. He joined Bill Gates and Warren Buffett in signing The Giving Pledge in 2010 and has stated his aim to give away the majority of his money during his lifetime. He gave around $500 million to philanthropic causes in 2019.
Pierre Omidyar’s involvement in media and showbiz
Honolulu Civil Beat, an online investigative reporting news service covering civic events in Hawaii, was created by Pierre Omidyar in 2010. The site was selected as Hawaii’s Best News Website in 2010, 2011, and 2012. Honolulu Civil Beat announced a partnership with HuffPost on September 4, 2013, creating HuffPost Hawaii.
In 2013, Pierre announced the formation of First Look Media, which debuted The Intercept on February 10, 2014, with journalists including Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, Jeremy Scahill, Dan Froomkin, John Temple, and Jay Rosen.
Omidyar has tried out his hands at showbiz as well. He also played the role of an executive producer on the films Merchants of Doubt (2014) and Spotlight (2015).
Final thoughts
Omidyar is a successful man and has made it all himself. He is what we can call a self-made man, and eBay has a huge hand in helping him reach these heights.
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