Jeffrey Preston “Jeff” Bezos is an American entrepreneur, billionaire, founder and chairman of the board of directors of the Internet company Amazon, founder and owner of the aerospace company Blue Origin
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on January 12, 1964 in the American city of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In 1986, he graduated from Princeton University with a degree in electrical engineering and computer science.
Career
After graduating, Bezos began his career on Wall Street, where he worked in computer technology. Later, he joined the creation of a network for international trade at Fitel.
After that, he worked at Bankers Trust, and later served as vice president at the investment company D. E. Shaw & Co. He resigned in the summer of 1994.
In 1994, Bezos created the online store Amazon.com, investing 300 thousand dollars in its launch. The website was launched on July 16, 1995, although at that time it was not yet fully finalized. According to Bezos, the main goal of the decision was to get ahead of potential competitors.
In 1998, he became one of the first investors in Google, investing 250 thousand dollars in it.
In addition, he invested in Unity Biotechnology, a company engaged in life extension research and studying the possibility of slowing down or stopping the aging process.
Since 2000, the entrepreneur has been investing in the development of the Blue Origin project, the purpose of which is to launch private spacecraft.
In 2013, he bought the American edition of the Washington Post for $250 million.
In 2021, Bezos stepped down as CEO of Amazon and chaired the company’s board of directors.
Flight into space
On July 20, 2021, Bezos, along with his brother Mark, 18-year-old Oliver Dahmen and 82-year-old Wally Funk, made a suborbital commercial flight aboard the New Shepard spacecraft.
The flight took place as part of the Blue Origin NS-16 mission and was the first commercial launch organized by Blue Origin, which is led by the entrepreneur.
The device reached a maximum altitude of 107 kilometers, and during takeoff, the rocket reached a speed of almost 3600 kilometers per hour. The entire journey lasted 10 minutes and 10 seconds.
Philanthropy
In July 2012, Jeff Bezos, along with his ex-wife, donated $ 2.5 million in support of a referendum on the legalization of same-sex marriage, which was subsequently successfully held in Washington state.
In January 2018, the ex-spouses announced a charitable contribution of $ 33 million to TheDream US – a scholarship fund supporting undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.
Fortune
Bezos is one of the richest people in the world, as of August 10, 2017, his fortune was $ 83.6 billion.
On July 27, 2017, after the opening of stock trading, he briefly topped the list of the richest people on the planet, surpassing Bill Gates – his capital at that time exceeded $ 90 billion. However, on the same day, due to the fall in the value of Amazon shares, he dropped to second place, and his fortune fell to a level just below $ 90 billion.
In 2018, Bezos topped the list of the richest people in the world according to Forbes, his fortune then amounted to $ 135.6 billion.
As of September 2020, his net worth has risen to $200.2 billion.
In January 2021, he temporarily lost the first position in the ranking of the richest people in the world to Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, but on January 12 he regained the lead – then his fortune was estimated at $ 187 billion.
According to Forbes, Bezos’ net worth was $150.1 billion in May 2022.
As of July 2024, his net worth was estimated at $216.5 billion.
Marital Status
Jeff Bezos and his ex-wife Mackenzie have four children.
On January 9, 2019, the entrepreneur announced his decision to divorce after 25 years of marriage. In April of the same year, the divorce was formalized – Mackenzie received $ 37.5 billion during the division of property.
On June 27, 2025, on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, Bezos married for the second time – American journalist Lauren Sanchez became his chosen one.
