Pierre Omidyar

The EBay founder who hired Meg Whitman as his company's chief operating officer, giving her a platform on which to run for governor, said Tuesday that he would not endorse her because of Whitman's opposition to same-sex marriage and her alliance with former Gov. Pete Wilson. Pierre Omidyar praised Whitman's leadership skills and said she would do a "great job" if elected, but said he would find it "difficult" to vote for her if he still lived in California. "Now I have not endorsed her because we have some differences on some of the political issues," Omidyar, who is now based in Hawaii, told Bloomberg TV in an interview that will air Wednesday on "InBusiness with Margaret Brennan.

The EBay founder who hired Meg Whitman as his company's chief operating officer, giving her a platform on which to run for governor, said Tuesday that he would not endorse her because of Whitman's opposition to same-sex marriage and her alliance with former Gov. Pete Wilson. Pierre Omidyar praised Whitman's leadership skills and said she would do a "great job" if elected, but said he would find it "difficult" to vote for her if he still lived in California. "Now I have not endorsed her because we have some differences on some of the political issues," Omidyar, who is now based in Hawaii, told Bloomberg TV in an interview that will air Wednesday on "InBusiness with Margaret Brennan.

EBay Inc., operator of the most active Internet auction site, raised $63 million Wednesday in the first initial public stock offering to hit the market in four weeks. The San Jose-based company sold 3.5 million shares at $18 each, the top of the $16-to-$18 range set by lead underwriter Goldman, Sachs & Co. Goldman raised the expected range by 13% earlier Wednesday, from $14 to $16.

Meg Whitman says she lives by the principle of doing the right thing. It's there in the very first line of her autobiography. "What is the right thing to do here?" she recalls challenging her underlings at EBay, where she was chief executive, after some troubling issue of customer service had arisen. I've been trying to reconcile that principle with her actions in what's become known as her "spinning" scandal. Eight years ago, it came out that Whitman was among an elite group of favored executives who had accepted preferential stock deals from Goldman Sachs while it was seeking business from their companies.

They seemed so young. That's what Peter Hero remembers most about the day, nine years ago, when Pierre Omidyar and Jeff Skoll walked into his office at Community Foundation Silicon Valley with an odd idea to give away a fortune. Omidyar wore jeans and a T-shirt; his thick black hair was tied back in a ponytail. Skoll had on what looked to Hero like a varsity jacket. He couldn't still be in high school, could he?

Meg Whitman says she lives by the principle of doing the right thing. It's there in the very first line of her autobiography. "What is the right thing to do here?" she recalls challenging her underlings at EBay, where she was chief executive, after some troubling issue of customer service had arisen. I've been trying to reconcile that principle with her actions in what's become known as her "spinning" scandal. Eight years ago, it came out that Whitman was among an elite group of favored executives who had accepted preferential stock deals from Goldman Sachs while it was seeking business from their companies.

Silicon Valley insiders call it the O'Reilly Radar: Tim O'Reilly's uncanny ability to spot a technology revolution before it happens. But lately the entrepreneur, investor and book publisher has been busier trying to incite the next one. He is urging young entrepreneurs and engineers to stop making some of the sillier software that lets Facebook users throw virtual sheep at their friends or download virtual beer on iPhones, and instead start making a real difference in the world.

* EBay Inc. founder and Chairman Pierre Omidyar reduced his holdings in the world's largest Internet auctioneer by 2.5%, selling 3 million shares to invest in Montage Hotels & Resorts. The hotel company is seeking approvals to build a 222-room hotel in Beverly Hills. * Nissan Motor Co. said worldwide sales in the fourth quarter increased 12% to 719,696 vehicles. Sales in the United States rose 15.3% to 198,946.

Internet giants Amazon.com Inc. and EBay Inc. announced they were settling unrelated shareholder lawsuits. Amazon agreed to pay $20 million to settle a suit alleging that it misled investors in February 2000 when it sold 690 million euros ($681 million) of debt.

The new season of "Project Runway" is underway, with six of 15 designers from the Golden State. That must make you wonder what became of last year's L.A. contestant, Nick Verreos. Well, he just taught a course at the Learning Annex on how to break into the fashion industry. You may be thinking, "Those that can't . . ." But think again: Donald Trump, Larry King and Sarah Jessica Parker have been Learning Annex instructors, too.

They seemed so young. That's what Peter Hero remembers most about the day, nine years ago, when Pierre Omidyar and Jeff Skoll walked into his office at Community Foundation Silicon Valley with an odd idea to give away a fortune. Omidyar wore jeans and a T-shirt; his thick black hair was tied back in a ponytail. Skoll had on what looked to Hero like a varsity jacket. He couldn't still be in high school, could he?

EBay Inc., operator of the most active Internet auction site, raised $63 million Wednesday in the first initial public stock offering to hit the market in four weeks. The San Jose-based company sold 3.5 million shares at $18 each, the top of the $16-to-$18 range set by lead underwriter Goldman, Sachs & Co. Goldman raised the expected range by 13% earlier Wednesday, from $14 to $16.

America Online Inc. agreed to feature EBay Inc.'s top-ranked online auction service on its service, which reaches more than 16 million customers, for $75 million over four years. AOL will receive all advertising revenue and may sell advertising on EBay's Web site under the agreement, which expands earlier pacts. San Jose-based EBay's listings, message boards and ratings will be featured on customized Web sites on AOL, CompuServe, Netscape's Netcenter, ICQ and Digital City.