The island state boasts of billionaire residents such as Oprah Winfrey, Jeff Bezos, Peter Thiel, and Oracle founder Larry Ellison. However, the wealthiest permanent resident of Hawaii is the media-shy founder of eBay, Pierre Omidyar, according to Forbes's 2024 list of the richest billionaire in each state.
Forbes's calculations reveal that 47 out of 50 US states are home to 54 billionaires, with a combined net worth of $1.6 trillion. Omidyar's contribution to this staggering total is a modest $6.5 billion. Born in France to Iranian parents, Omidyar founded eBay in 1995 and became a billionaire within three years, thanks to the success of the online auction platform.
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In 2002, eBay acquired the online payment company PayPal for $1.5 billion, which was later spun off in 2015 to allow eBay to develop its own payment system. In 2020, Omidyar stepped down from eBay's board as part of a company-wide overhaul, a move that the Wall Street Journal reported was not due to any disagreement with the company. Despite his departure, Omidyar remains active in the company and holds the title of director emeritus.
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Omidyar's interests extend beyond eBay. He has ventured into investigative journalism, founding First Look Media which subsequently launched the online news site, The Intercept. He also invests in real estate development in Mexico while living in Honolulu, Hawaii's state capital, with his wife Pamela.
Forbes ranks the 56-year-old Omidyar as the world's 444th richest person. Since 2004, he has donated over $1.5 billion of his wealth through impact investments and philanthropy. A long-term Democratic party donor and a vocal critic of Big Tech, Omidyar's group donated $150,000 in 2020 to Whistleblower Aid, a nonprofit representing Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen.
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Omidyar has taken the top spot in Hawaii from Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle. Despite owning 98% of an entire Hawaiian island, Ellison's primary residence is now in California, according to Forbes. Similarly, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos have their main residences in California and Florida, respectively.
In 2021, Bezos and his fiancée Lauren Sanchez set a record by purchasing the most expensive property ever sold on a Hawaiian island, paying $78 million for a 14-acre property on Maui, as reported by Architectural Digest.
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