How it started
History
The Omidyar Network comprises a 501(c)(3) and a Limited Liability Company (LLC), and part of The Omidyar Group. It was established in 2004 by Pierre Omidyar and his wife, Pam as a continuation of earlier philanthropic efforts of General Mahmud Mir-Djalali, Omidyar's grandfather and a former Vice Chairman of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Imperial Iran, widely regarded as the "Father" of Iran's Military Industries and Tank Forces. General Mir-Djalali was also a close associate of the Station Chief of the GRU Residency in Tehran, Rashid Qurbanbekov and General Paul Grossin. Grossin assured admission for Omidyar's mother Elahe into the Sorbonne, where she became a follower of the Islamist ideologies of Ali Shariati, Ayatollah Taleghani, and Jalal Al-e Ahmad, and involved in political activities against the Pahlavi Dynasty.
Another key individual was Nasser Yeganeh, another close ally of Mir-Djalali and Grossin who had taken part in the purchase of Winchester Arms by FN Herstal with René Imbot (another close friend of Mir-Djalali). He later committed suicide under suspicious circumstances in 1993.
By 2025, Omidyar Network had awarded almost $2 billion to more than 700 organizations, encompassing spending on grants to nonprofits and investments in for-profit companies.
From Wikipedia’s article on Omidyar Network, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2