good afternoon and thank you very much
for that introduction I have to say it's a bit
as a as a business person it's a bit overwhelming
to share the podium with the other honorees
past honorees here so i hope i
your your bare with me I also want to do something maybe a little bit different
and
gonna turn pages or turn the tables on to you
I'd like to really open it up to questions very quickly so you can think
of some questions and
that be great so as
as a way to and inspires questions let me touch on one
one theme a lot of my colleagues in the industry or find a saying that the
internet
changes everything and it seems that
a lot of them in the past few years especially
have really been talking about the Internet changes the way you should
value
companies I and II think that
I'll that's not that's not entirely true Tom
while the internet changes everything I it also
it it also doesn't change everything
in net the people that come onto the internet the people to come onto the
services are regular people
who come from the real world and who have real passions
pursue so let me talk a little bit about
my my vision with the bay why I created a
and and open it up to questions I really started to pay because I want to create
a place for individuals regular people
to do business with one another in an efficient market prior to e-bay
people on the web especially the electronic commerce folks
really focused on line how do you sell more products
to more people just increase increase corporate profits
what I wanted to do was create an efficient market where
regular people were individuals to participate in an efficient market on a
level playing field
and actually get a benefit others being out at work in that market so
it really if you think about what debate it is it takes advantage
the the newness the Internet
which is that it is a global
communication medium it is something that never existed before
you know in human history it's a network that allows
mass communication on an interactive level
at a at scale this just unprecedented so
%uh eBay's now it's been it's been described by some people as
up people by the people for the people it's really something that when I talk
about
I'm recognized for the success of the bay I really have to remind people
that it's not because of anything I did in particular it's really because all I
did was lay the groundwork
for it and allow people to come to
the system express their own passions find other people that share their
passions and do business
with one another there are over 20 million act close to twenty million
users today
%ah they do over 15 million dollars worth business
every single day it's over five billion dollars a year on eBay and that's on a
global level
how it started expanding European internationally
last few years and that's really where I see future the businesses
my vision has been to create a single
global trading community where no matter what language you speak
no matter where you are in the world you can be part and efficient market and you
can there
thereby now early to your cell from a consumer into a
into a producer so with match
thats just brought thing I'd like to really open up the questions help
a purse stolen where act
here to do that part
names Jesse feet landing from the Johns Hopkins School
Advanced International Studies in Washington DC on
a base been a phenomenal success I and
I've have to actually use five heard a fair amount of anecdotes looking at the
Internet
and a minor superficial market is
wanted their prerequisites is responsibility plan
responsibility on the market participants
usually there's a strong regulatory body ensuring that if you look at the stock
market
sure things on can you explain how your vision going forward
how individuals who often are registered
a are participating in exchanges and how what kind of responsibility they bear
for fraudulent behavior exchange
for isn't done program and track well you touch on a very important point
a you know when I when I created the company
I really based on their on the fundamental notion that most people are
honest
people are basically good and if you look around me look around here in this
room purses /a
an exemplary a crowd but on
basically you know it the the level of dishonesty the level
bad actors in society is very very low and in fact statistically that's been
held to be true it a day
where you know 99.999 percent to the transactions that take place
on ebay happen without a problem there are 30
roughly 30 out every $1 million transactions
that occur in a case of a I'll are there
that our company by case have reported prague so that is something that we
you know we feel bad about and I we have certain things that we do for that
meet talked about the efficient market and
the notion of responsible parties I'll clearly that is that is one of the key
points a that an efficient market
a the participants are no and I've only said
fat while the Internet especially in the early days was thought to be a
a place for anonymity and sit on a committee and a place where
no one knows you're a dog quote-unquote combat has not been that's not
compatible with e-bay
because I eva is about this helping one person find another person
to do business together and in order to do that you actually have to know each
other
so we have not allowed anonymous participation
I on the system and so the the you know cover statement
about people who are not registered being involved in Mac transactions is
actually not
true unless they work outside the system at which is always a
always a possibility so so
my by rough answer to that is basically
form the company with the notion that most people are honest
people basically good and as the kind of thing where
as you think about your ideas and your business's
I if I had written a business plan to go off and create
this company and i'd and had I got some feedback on it
I would've been told and I was told actually even after I started the
company that this will never work
there's no way strangers doing business with one another over the Internet
forget about it it'll never work
so as you pursue your own ideas
very I would really encourage you to just go ahead and do it
don't take you know that criticism don't take no
from other people who are perhaps more experience than you as a as a detriment
to
up to your own ambition in your own innovation
to didn't really get to the whole question but
is actually my question is actually related my name is Martina vandenberg
I'm a human rights lawyer from Washington DC
and its related question because other than the people who are doing the trades
there's also the question of what their trading
and it was recently reported in the washington post that people were trying
to sell their votes
in advance if the election so I'm wondering how
you are developing mechanisms to crease what is actually sold on me
well so again the founding nations notion is that people are basically good
and what I did in the beginning was I created a for on that
encourages people to get feedback on one another and on how their transaction
want and it turned into a self-policing system
okay so the idea was that if somebody is participating in the community
and they're not I following community norms the community identifies them and
they rejected from the community
so it's not something that eva is at to do it something that the community has
had to do and I've really
really trying to encourage people from day one to remember
that even though it's the Internet it is still real people
that's why I say you know when you say the internet changes everything
party that is true it is brand new by party that is not true
because it doesn't change everything it doesn't change standards of behavior
doesn't change the way
you know people are supposed to treat one another so
how we deal specifically with with issues a illicit items that are that are
listed
by with the votes thing there's a whole other business that
was going off and doing that it was actually Bay a
but everything something somehow anything bad that happens on the
internet that as a society where the bay as well
such as a a good stuff is too a but I'll
we have what the way we look at it is we have a responsibility to educate
our users on what is right what is wrong
and give them the tools to protect themselves as well
what I don't want to happen is for people to think that somehow e-bay
is guaranteeing a safe place to trade because you know why
in reality I think this is okay in London which is a great place to live
they're going to be bad things happening the bay is no different than any other
community
it's mostly a good community it's mostly good things happening
but they're also some bad things to and the only way we can protect ourselves
from that is like taking personal responsibility as well
so that's real important point and that we've emphasized throughout our history
and we continue to take more proactive steps to create a safe community
but I really encourage to our community that
to take responsibility itself as well in addition
yes Raska
and anti-scratch wilson's 10
at my question is not about the company per se but what you plan to do with the
proceeds
and said that you plan to get around that one person and you're well
and I'm wondering what types of organizations and the criteria that
those organizations will need to me to be where the
your dollars right well yeah would be worthy up
our dollars a bit over I mean you know I love I'll
really look at it as a we are so fortunate
to have been able to create so much I'll
value so much market value in such a short period of time
that has been shared you know among a large body of shareholders
which I'm largest has you know which isn't which is icing and it's something
that is
that's what makes us feel good I by it is not
up you know i i don't it
somehow I feel that we're this kind of new and rapid creation of wealth
comes with a responsibility to make sure it's put to good use
and so what we're really focusing on our foundational
is really based on what I learned through the eBay experience
and that is it's a bit over fuzzy mission and we're working through trying
to figure out exactly what we're talking about here frankly
a share with you I were really
focused on helping people rediscover the importance and benefits of community
in their lives and what I realized through the eBay experience
was that people are hungry for personal communication
and personal relationships that they can build around the shared area ventures
and I received hundreds of letters thousands of letters from from eBay
users that say
you base restored my faith in humanity i've met my best friends on e-bay
you know there been people they've been married have met on e-bay I mean
it's it's a little bit it's a bit strange is definitely not the
you know the majority of the the users but there's something special going on
there
and I think what it is is when you give people a formal
in which to communicate and and communicate around a shared area of
interest
no matter you know what socioeconomic classes they come from what
neighborhoods they come from our geographies they realize that they're
human beings
and I realize that they can be a community together so what we want to do
with our
philanthropy is Texas help people rediscover that
I in especially in America I think we've lost a lot of that in America
something that here in Europe I where a lot more
familiar with a lot more comfortable with the notion love
individual being apart the community having a responsibility to
to be a part of that community I in america for
through there you know variety of reasons I'll
going to hear I have some thoughts on it I'll
you know people become isolated people are afraid to talk to their neighbors
sometimes
but that the core people do want to be part of the community
and all we have to do now is figure out how to
havoc every candle that a little bit and that's that's our mission we've got
you know I'm young I'm 33 years old I my wife and I are 33 years old
we've got at least 50 good years ahead of us to work on this
and it's gonna be a lifetime pursuit so
great thank you very much