Pierre Omidyar, the Next George Soros

Pierre Omidyar is the founder of the multinational e-commerce corporation eBay, a philanthropist, and a financier of left-wing organizations, including investigative journalism projects. Omidyar is a funder of left-wing politics; as such, he gave $100,000 to the NeverTrump PAC, a group opposed to 2016 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Omidyar is a donor to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Pierre Omidyar was born on June 21, 1967 to Iranian parents in Paris, France. His family immigrated to the United States due to his father’s work. He graduated from Tufts University with a bachelor’s degree in computer science in 1988. In 1995, Omidyar opened Auction Web, which would later become eBay. Omidyar became a billionaire when eBay became a publicly traded company in the fall of 1998. Omidyar resigned as chairman of the board in 2015. In 2011, Omidyar founded the Democracy Fund, a 501(c)(3) private foundation headquartered in Washington, D.C. In a March 2013 article in the Huffington Post, Omidyar stated part of his reason for creating the Fund as “support[ing] social entrepreneurs and others working to directly address the conditions that threaten the ability of our government to represent the public’s highest interests, to retain the public’s trust, and to meet the many great challenges that we face. Joe Goldman is president of the Democracy Fund. The Fund calls itself “bipartisan,” and distributes grants and funds various political and journalism groups including the Aspen Institute, Millennial Action Project, and the National Institute for Civil Discourse, according to its website. Data from the website Foundation Search shows nearly $8.9 million in 46 grants in 2015, many of which went to left-wing organizations. Some of the 2015 grantees include the Bipartisan Policy Center, Pew Charitable Trusts, Proteus Fund, Democracy Works, Knight Foundation, Free Press, Public Citizen Foundation, and New Venture Fund. Omidyar also founded Democracy Fund Voice, a 501(c)(4) “sister organization” to Democracy Fund. The organization’s website notes it “is solely funded by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam,” and its 2016 Form 990 federal filing shows $5,510,000 in contributions from Omidyar. The organization’s filings also note it has a “cost-sharing agreement” with Democracy Fund. The organization’s Form 990 filing for 2016 lists one of its principal projects as supporting “organizations that educate, register, and activate voters,” but claims it does not “support efforts or organizations that endorse candidates.” Democracy Fund Voice notes that it has funded politically active groups, including the Sixteen Thirty Fund, Stand Up Republic, Human Rights First, New America, Faith and Public Dialogue, Institute for Social Policy Understanding, and ReThink Media. Its Form 990 for 2016 also shows grants to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund and (a 501(c)(3) voter mobilization nonprofit). The Omidyar Network Fund is a Redwood City, California-based 501(c)(3) foundation created in 2004 that serves as Omidyar’s primary philanthropic vehicle. It is closely connected to the Omidyar Network, a for-profit venture capital LLC that makes grants to “companies focused on social change” through its 501(c)(3) affiliate. As of 2014, the Network had nearly $322 million in assets, and in that year distributed $45 million in grants. The Omidyar Network is a major funder of the Sunlight Foundation—a left-leaning nonprofit also funded by liberal foundations like the Rockefeller Family Fund, Knight Foundation, and Bloomberg Family Foundation—giving the group over $17 million in 9 grants between 2007 and 2013. Other grant recipients include the Tides Foundation, Tides Center, George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, and the Brennan Center for Justice. Omidyar has given $213 million to various causes, many of which are active in left-wing politics. Among those groups that have been funded are the Open Society Foundations, the Tides Foundation, the Center for Public Integrity, and the Center for Responsive Politics. Omidyar has also donated to Democratic Party candidates. During the Democratic Party presidential primaries in 2008, he donated to the campaigns of both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Ahead of the 2016 election, it was reported that Omidyar and his wife have donated $200,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and $150,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee “over the years.”