EBay Inc founder and chairman Pierre Omidyar would be the latest tech billionaire after Jeff Bezos to venture into the news industry. Bezos, who is the founder of e-commerce giant Amazon.com, had recently finalized his USD250 million acquisition deal of the Washington Post with the newspaper's parent company.
Omidyar was put on the spotlight this week after the journalist Glenn Greenwald's announcement to leave UK's The Guardian for a spot in the eBay founder's new media venture. In a blog post on Wednesday, Omidyar disclosed a little about his newest venture.
"I want to find ways to convert mainstream readers into engaged citizens... (The new media project would) cover general interest news, with a core mission around supporting and empowering independent journalists across many sectors and beats." Omidyar wrote.
The Omidyar Network, the investment firm eBay founder had created with his wife Pam, had supported 25 organizations that were focused on government transparency and news. Omidyar would have a lot of money to invest in his hands, as he still has a 9% stake in the USD70 billion US e-commerce company today. Forbes newsmagine had estimated Omidyar's wealth at USD8.5 billion.
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