Jeffrey Skoll
Jeffrey Skoll
Jeffrey Skoll, OCis a Canadian engineer, internet entrepreneur and film producer. He is currently based in Los Angeles, California. With an estimated net worth of $US 3.8 billion, Skoll was ranked by Forbes as the 7th wealthiest Canadian and 347th in the world...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionBusinessman
Date of Birth16 January 1965
CountryCanada
lives older resources
My goal was to be at the point - no older than 40 - where I would have enough resources to make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged people.
business ended people school stories ultimately
I wanted to be a writer, to write these stories that would make people see the world in a different way. But I ended up going to business school because I thought I could ultimately get to where I wanted to go faster that way.
afraid alive came dad god gotten home impact life looking remember saying surgery thank
When I was 14, my dad came home one day and told us he had cancer. It was looking pretty bad. And I remember him saying how afraid he was that he hadn't gotten to do the things he wanted to do during his life. He had surgery and survived. And he's still alive today, thank God. But it made a big impact on me.
create good higher leverage money movies shows tv
As a philanthropist, I give away a lot of money every year. Yet I thought there was a higher leverage to come in and create movies and TV shows that were actually able to do some good in the world.
global great lots nuclear people scary stories teenager weapons
As a teenager I read a lot of books. Books with lots of scary trends, things like nuclear weapons and overpopulation and global diseases, and I thought, 'Wouldn't it be great to write stories that showed people these problems and that we could do something about them.'
views fans republican
My views tend to be centrist. I'm not a big fan of George W., but my politics tend to be more Republican than not.
phones community done
I learned Hollywood is a small community, and you really have to be a part of the community to get anything done. Unlike traditional industries, where you can do things from afar with phone calls and e-mail, this town is really about being social. Because that's how trust gets built.
guy house paper
I was living in a house with five guys, eating their leftovers when they weren't watching. I went from that to having $1-billion-plus on paper.
looks lines return
Participant (Productions) is the only production company in town that has a double bottom line: social good plus financial returns. It's too early to tell how our returns are going to look - though all signs are promising - but social good is what we're really after.
media goal social
The goal here is to build a brand around social relevance in media (with his Participant Productions company).
believe differences support
Philanthropy is all about making a positive difference in the world by devoting your resources and your time to causes you believe in. In my case, I like to support causes where "a lot of good comes from a little bit of good," or, in other words, where the positive social returns vastly exceed the amount of time and money invested.
believe technology opportunity
I believe that Silicon Valley is truly a place of excellence and the impact of this tiny community on the world is completely disproportionate to its size. We are the undisputed leaders of technological change. But with our abundance of talent and resources, we also have the opportunity to be the pioneers of social change and, ultimately, this may be our greatest contribution.
business moving thinking
The pace at eBay was frantic and urgent. We knew that if we didn't move fast, somebody would come into the market and quash us. Participant doesn't make a lot of sense from a financial investment perspective, so it's unlikely that other people will be approaching the business in the same way. So you see less urgency; you see a thoroughness and willingness to spend extra time to get things right. Which I think is really important.
business real thinking
Business skills, when well applied, can do more than just make money. They can potentially make money and do some real good, which is immensely satisfying. To do that, it's important to think outside the box, take risks, and be an entrepreneur.