The giving Back Awards: 15 People Who Make America Great

2 - Family Foundation

Pierre Omidyar
Henderson, Nev.

He's using his $10 billion fortune to help people 'tap into their own power.'

Pierre Omidyar invented the online auction site that became eBay as a lark. But when his whim became a business that made Omidyar a billionaire, sudden wealth brought with it an overwhelming responsibility. "There was this sense of 'Oh boy, what do we do to make sure that this wealth doesn't get wasted?' " he says. "We've got to put it to good use."

Now 39, Omidyar has devoted himself full time to the challenge of "responsibly investing" one of the dot-com era's largest fortunes, around $10 billion. He left eBay five years ago and abandoned Silicon Valley for a quieter life in Nevada, where he and his wife, Pam, started a family foundation. In 2004, they converted it into the Omidyar Network--a philanthropic venture-capital fund that, unlike traditional charities, can invest in profitmaking businesses as well as nonprofits. The recipients, says Omidyar, are chosen because they "help people tap into their own power."

That philosophy has put Omidyar on the cutting edge of foundation work and created an eclectic portfolio of good works. In the past two years, the Omidyar Network has committed (he shuns the term "donation") nearly $80 million to several dozen organizations. About half went to profitmaking ventures that create what Omidyar calls "deep social benefit." One is InnoCentive, a collaborative research community that allows pharmaceutical companies to post challenges to scientists around the world; another is World of Good, which imports the work of artisans in developing countries for sale by U.S. retailers.