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Canada Jeff Skoll is an engineer, internet entrepreneur, film producer, and philanthropist known for co-founding eBay and Participant Media.
Jeff Skoll was the first president of eBay, an online auction company, contributing to its business plan and establishing the eBay Foundation.
Founded by Jeff Skoll in 1999, the foundation supports social entrepreneurship and has been instrumental in popularizing the concept, with Skoll pledging approximately $1 billion of eBay stock.
Skoll founded this film production company with the aim of fostering social change by creating films that increase public awareness of critical social issues.
Skoll founded this investment firm focused on socially responsible investing, overseeing billions in client assets and backing companies aiming to help the environment and combat climate change.
Established by Skoll with a $100 million donation, this fund confronts global threats including climate change, water security, pandemics, nuclear proliferation, and Middle East conflict.
The Skoll Foundation is listed as a featured partner, highlighting the foundation's support for initiatives, including those related to peace and health.
Skoll joined others to create this philanthropic funding collaborative with an initial $500 million to fund organizations addressing health, education, and economic opportunity in low-to-middle-income countries.
Skoll, along with Chris Anderson and Virgin Unite, launched this philanthropic funding collaborative with an initial $250 million investment for 'audacious ideas' delivering 'impact at scale'.
Skoll funded the creation of the Skoll Center for Social Entrepreneurship in 2003, which serves as a research hub and hosts the annual Skoll World Forum.
Skoll funded the creation of the Skoll Center for Social Impact Entertainment in 2014, dedicated to promoting social change through entertainment.
Skoll gave C$7.5 million to the university in 2000 to endow three chairs and establish the Jeffrey Skoll BASc/MBA Program.
Skoll, along with Bono and investment firm TPG, co-founded this $2 billion social-impact fund focused on delivering both social impact and financial returns across various sectors.
In November 2022, Skoll bought a minority stake in Monumental Sports & Entertainment.
Jeff Skoll was born on January 16, 1965, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His early life involved a family move to Toronto in the late seventies. At fourteen, his father’s cancer diagnosis influenced Skoll’s perspective on life’s purpose. He earned a Bachelor of Applied Science with honours in electrical engineering from the University of Toronto in 1987. After backpacking globally, he started two businesses in Toronto: Skoll Engineering, an information technology consulting firm, and Micros on the Move Ltd., a computer rental firm. He then pursued an MBA at Stanford Graduate School of Business, graduating in 1995. Following his MBA, he worked on internet projects for Knight-Ridder.
In 1996, Skoll joined Pierre Omidyar as the first president and first full-time employee of eBay. He developed the business plan that guided eBay’s growth from a startup into a large company. During his tenure, he initiated the eBay Foundation, which received pre-IPO stock that later reached a valuation of $32 million. By the time he transitioned from full-time employment due to back problems, he was eBay’s second-largest stockholder and cashed out a portion of his holdings for approximately $2 billion. This wealth provided the foundation for his subsequent philanthropic and media ventures, including the establishment of Capricorn Investment Group for socially responsible investing.
Skoll established Participant Media in 2004 to produce films addressing critical social issues and inspiring engagement. His early productions like “Syriana,” “Good Night, and Good Luck,” “North Country,” and “Murderball” garnered 11 Oscar nominations in 2006. A significant milestone was financing and playing a key role in the 2006 environmental documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.” Through Participant, Skoll has served as an executive producer on nearly 100 films, including Oscar-winners “Spotlight,” “Roma,” and “American Factory.” Participant films have received 18 Oscars and 73 Academy Award nominations as of 2019. In 2024, Skoll announced Participant would be closing. He has also founded the Skoll Foundation (1999) and the Skoll Global Threats Fund (2009) to support social entrepreneurship and address global issues like pandemics and climate change. He is a recipient of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy and a Giving Pledge signatory.
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