Jeffrey Skoll (born 1965) is a Canadian born businessman who lives in San Jose, California. 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link goes to calendar). ... A businessman (sometimes businesswoman, female; or businessperson, gender neutral) is a generic term for a wide range of people engaged in profit-oriented enterprises, generally the management of a company. ... Nickname: Capital of Silicon Valley Motto: Official website: http://www. ...

Jeffrey Skoll

Image File history File links Skoll. ... Image File history File links Skoll. ...

Early life

Skoll was born in Montreal, Quebec and family stayed until 1978 when they moved to Toronto. When Skoll was fourteen years old, his father suffered from cancer, which prompted him to discuss with his son how much he regretted not having had the time to do everything he had planned in his life. A keen reader, Skoll was influenced by authors such as Aldous Huxley and Ayn Rand and intended to become an author writing motivational books and books on tackling the world's problems. This article needs cleanup. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... When normal cells are damaged beyond repair, they are eliminated by apoptosis. ... Aldous Leonard Huxley (July 26, 1894 – November 22, 1963) was a British writer who emigrated to the United States. ... ...

He graduated with a B.S. in 1987 from the University of Toronto's electrical engineering program. While an undergraduate student, he co-edited the engineering students' satirical newspaper The Toike Oike. He paid his way through college by pumping gas in North York, Ontario. After graduating he backpacked around the world for several months before returning and founding two businesses in Toronto: Skoll Engineering, a consulting firm on Information Technology and Micros on the Move Ltd., a computer rental firm. Those businesses did poorly so he decided to improve his business skills with further study. A Bachelor of Science (B.S., B.Sc. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Founded in 1827, the University of Toronto (U of T), in Toronto, Ontario, is the largest university in Canada. ... Electrical engineers design power systems. ...

He left Canada in 1993 to study a Masters of Business Administration at Stanford University, graduating in 1995. After Stanford he went to work at Knight-Ridder where he was working on internet projects for the publishing company. 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a tertiary degree in business management. ... The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly known as Stanford University (or simply Stanford), is a privately-funded American university in Stanford, California. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Knight Ridder building in downtown San José. Knight Ridder (IPA: ) NYSE: KRI is an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. ...

Skoll's eBay era

In 1996 Skoll met eBay's founder Pierre Omidyar who hired him as the company's first president and first full-time employee. While eBay was already profitable at the time Skoll joined, he wrote the business plan that eBay followed from its emergence as a start-up to a great success. He remained President until the arrival of Meg Whitman in January 1998 when he became Vice-President, Strategic Planning and Analysis until back problems necessitated his departure from full-time employment at the company. In 1998, he championed the creation of the eBay Foundation which was allocated pre-IPO stock now worth billions of dollars. Skoll is no longer involved in day-to-day management of eBay but remains its second-largest shareholder. eBay Inc. ... Pierre Omidyar (born 21 June 1967) is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, and the founder and chairman of the eBay auction site. ... A business plan is a summary of how a business owner, manager, or entrepreneur intends to organize an entrepreneurial endeavor and implement activities necessary and sufficient for the venture to succeed. ... Meg Whitman Margaret C. Whitman, (born August 4, 1956) has been the President and CEO of the online marketplace eBay since March 1998. ...

Participant Productions

Skoll is also the CEO of Participant Productions, a Los Angeles based media company he created to fund feature films and documentaries that promote social values while still being commercially viable. Its first three films are Syriana, Good Night, and Good Luck and North Country. Participant Productions is a relatively new movie studio, whose inital movies have gained critical acclaim, and major film awards. ... Syriana is a 2005 geopolitical thriller film directed by Stephen Gaghan. ... Good Night, and Good Luck is a 2005 film by George Clooney about the conflict between journalist Edward R. Murrow and anti-communist Senator Joseph McCarthy and the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. ... North Country is a common place name: The North Country is a region of Upstate New York in the United States. ...

Philanthropies

Skoll is a noted philanthropist and has been honoured several times for his generosity. In 2003 he was given an honorary doctor of laws degree by the University of Toronto. He gave the eponymous Skoll Foundation $250 million of eBay stock. The Foundation supports "social entrepreneurship." Skoll chairs the Foundation. A philanthropist is someone who devotes his time, money, or effort towards helping others. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Social enterprise. ...

Skoll's largest charitable donation was a $7.5 million contribution to endow the first Canadian dual degree program for gifted students where they obtain a Bachelors degree in Engineering and an MBA in a special program of six years and eight months. Skoll is on the board of directors of the eBay Foundation and the Community Foundation Silicon Valley, the Advisory board of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and several other community organizations.

In addition, Skoll has financed The Gandhi Project in partnership with Kamran Elahian which created a dubbed version in Arabic of the film Gandhi. They used Palestinian voice actors and artists to make the film particularly relevant to Palestinians. With Skoll's support, it is being screened throughout Palestine to promote non-violence, self-reliance, economic development and empowerment. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) (Devanagari: मोहनदास करमचन्द गांधी, Gujarati મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી), called Mahatma Gandhi, was the charismatic leader who brought the cause of Indias independence from British colonial rule to world attention. ...

Skoll has invested in privately held company keen.com, an online psychic and astrology website which initially started as offering paid advice in many other subjects. It uses a similar system to eBay where users give feedback on individual psychics or advisers and that feedback creates a rating to assist buyers in making a decision about which one to use. He is on the board of directors of the company.

See also

• List of billionaires

Forbes magazine annually lists the worlds wealthiest individuals: The Worlds Billionaries. ...

External links

• Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People 2004
• Skoll Foundation
• Participant Productions
• The Observer - Hollywood's new politics Gaby Wood, January 8, 2006