Jeff Bezos is an American entrepreneur who played a key role in the growth of e-commerce as the founder and chief executive officer of Amazon.com, Inc., an online merchant of books and later of a wide variety of products. Under his guidance, Amazon became the largest retailer on the World Wide Web and the model for Internet sales.
Early Life and Education
Jeffrey Preston Bezos, originally Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen, was born on January 12, 1964, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Jacklyn (née Gise) and Ted Jorgensen. At his birth, his mother was a 17-year-old high school student, and his father owned a bike shop. In 1968, after his parents’ separation, Jacklyn married Cuban immigrant Miguel “Mike” Bezos, who adopted four-year-old Jeff, leading to his surname change to Bezos.
The family moved to Texas, where Jeff attended River Oaks Elementary School in Houston. Later, they relocated to Miami, Florida, where he attended Miami Palmetto High School. During his teenage years, Bezos worked the breakfast shift at McDonald’s as a short-order line cook. In 1986, he graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) in electrical engineering and computer science.
Career: From Amazon to Blue Origin
Amazon
In 1986, Bezos received job offers from prestigious companies like Intel, Bell Labs, and Andersen Consulting. However, by late 1993, he left his role at D.E. Shaw to start an online bookstore. On July 5, 1994, he launched Cadabra from his garage, which later became Amazon. His parents invested $300,000 in the venture. By 1998, Amazon had expanded beyond books to include various products. Despite facing financial challenges in 2002, Amazon rebounded by 2003, posting a profit of $400 million.
Amazon launched the Kindle in 2007, revolutionizing the reading experience. In 2013, Bezos secured a $600 million contract with the CIA for Amazon Web Services. By 2016, he raised significant sums by selling his Amazon shares, and in July 2017, he briefly became the world’s richest person. His wealth surpassed $100 billion in November 2017. By early 2018, Amazon reported its highest-ever profit, and Forbes named Bezos the world’s wealthiest person with a net worth of $112 billion. On July 5, 2021, he stepped down as CEO to pursue other interests.
Blue Origin
In September 2000, Bezos founded Blue Origin, a human spaceflight startup. The company purchased land in West Texas for its launch and test facility. Despite early setbacks, including a prototype crash in 2011, Blue Origin achieved success with the New Shepard space vehicle’s launch in November 2015. Blue Origin aims to preserve Earth’s resources by making humanity a multi-planetary species. In 2018, the company announced commercial spaceflight tickets priced between $200,000 and $300,000 per person.
The Washington Post
On August 5, 2013, Bezos purchased The Washington Post for $250 million. He transformed the newspaper into a media and technology powerhouse, focusing on digital media, mobile platforms, and analytics software. Despite initial accusations of content manipulation, the newspaper became profitable in 2016 due to a surge in online readership.
Philanthropy and Investments
Day One Fund
Bezos’s Day One Fund supports organizations providing shelter and hunger relief, with a vision statement of “No Child Sleeps Outside.”
Bezos Expeditions
Through Bezos Expeditions, Jeff makes personal investments, including an early stake in Google. His $250,000 investment in 1998 grew to 3.3 million shares, worth about $3.1 billion in 2017. He has also invested in healthcare companies like Unity Biotechnology, GRAIL, Juno Therapeutics, and Zocdoc. Bezos is involved in various philanthropic efforts through direct donations and non-profit projects funded by his investments.
Personal Life
Jeff Bezos met novelist MacKenzie Tuttle in 1992 while working at D.E. Shaw in Manhattan. They married a year later and moved to Seattle in 1994, where Bezos founded Amazon. They have four children, three sons and a daughter adopted from China. On January 9, 2019, the couple announced their divorce, finalized on April 4, 2019. Post-divorce, Bezos retained 75% of their Amazon stock and the couple’s voting rights.
Awards and Honors
Bezos has received numerous accolades, including Time’s Person of the Year in 1999 and an honorary doctorate from Carnegie Mellon University in 2008. He has also been honored with the James Smithson Medal and the Axel Springer Award.
In conclusion, Jeff Bezos’s journey from a young entrepreneur in his garage to a global business magnate and space visionary exemplifies innovation, resilience, and a relentless pursuit of the future.
