Today in 1995, Pierre Omidyar founded The AuctionWeb. Two years later, it would change its name to eBay. Contrary to popular belief, the "e" in eBay didn't stand for "electronic," but rather for "echo," named after Omidyar's consulting firm Echo Bay Technology Group. After eBay went public in September 1998, Omidyar and then-president Jeffrey Skoll became instant billionaires.