Founded by Pierre Omidyar as 'AuctionWeb' in 1995, this online auction site now boasts 150 million registered users, compelling folk from around the world to buy or sell goods and services.

The site belonged to Echo Bay Technology Group, but the domain name 'EchoBay.com' was already taken. The shortened 'eBay.com' seemed like the second, logical choice. Headquartered in San Jose, California, eBay has long been managed by President and CEO Meg Whitman. Thanks to its revenue growth, the company is now recognised as among the fastest-growing companies of all time.

The eBay brand saw an impressive growth of 31%. Its brand value stands at $7.4 billion, with sales of $3.3 billion. Interestingly, the most expensive thing sold here was a Grumman Gulfstream II jet. It went for $4.9 million. Another titbit - one of the largest items sold was a World War II submarine!