Pierre Omidyar, the 38-year old founder of the mammoth online auction site, eBay, doesn’t do media interviews that often, let alone over dinner. But here he is in Bar Americain, a busy American-style brasserie in midtown Manhattan.

We’re sitting between a raw fish bar laden with oysters and clams, and a crowded cocktail bar where an athletic barman is mixing drinks. Black-suited waiters sail by, oblivious to the fact that they’ve got the world’s 35th richest man in their midst. (The latest Forbes rich list says he is worth $10bn.)