The Life Story of Jeff Bezos
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word Amazon? You may think of the vast South American river and rainforest covering more than eight countries and territories.
Or you may picture the large online retail store where you can buy almost anything.
If you fall into the latter category, you may have heard of Jeff Bezos, the founder and former chief executive of this unbelievable online store based in the United States.
Jeff Bezos named Amazon the South American river and rainforest as a reference for his plan to make his store as large as this biome.
He initially wanted to call his company “Cadabra” but lost interest in this name after someone mispronounced it as Cadaver. Walk with us as we explore the circumstances that led Bezos to establish and grow Amazon to what it is today.
“The human brain is an incredible pattern-matching machine.” – Jeff Bezos
Birth and Early Childhood
Jeff Bezos, known in full as Jeffrey Preston Bezos, was born on January 12, 1964, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His parents, Jacklyn Gise Jorgensen and Ted Jorgensen were still in their teens at the time of his birth.
Jeff’s mother struggled to finish night school while raising him as an infant. His parents divorced when he turned four, and his mother remarried shortly afterward to a Cuban immigrant named Mike Bezos.
Mike Bezos adopted Jeff, raised him as if he were his son, and legally changed his surname from Jorgensen to Bezos.
Education
Jeff Bezos began his education in a Montessori school in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at two years. After relocating to this city, his parents transferred him to River Oaks Elementary School in Houston, Texas.
Bezos displayed an early interest in computer science and tech, going so far as to configure an electric alarm to keep his siblings from coming to his room.
Bezos pursued his high school education at Palmetto High School in Miami, Florida. His passion for science continued while still in high school.
He joined the Student Science Training Program at the University of Florida and began harnessing his other interest: space exploration. During a graduation commencement speech, Bezos mentioned he has always been interested in space.
As the 2012 Businessperson of the Year, Bezos Is Named by Fortune Magazine in November.
Bezos graduated from high school in 1982, having been named valedictorian. He then attended Princeton University to pursue a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering and computer science.
At school, he joined multiple clubs and campus societies such as Phi Beta Kappa, Quadrangle Club, and Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS).
Bezos graduated summa cum laude with a GPA of 4.2 in 1986.
Early Career
Upon graduation, Bezos worked in various technology companies, including Intel, Andersen Consulting, and Bell Labs.
The highlight of his career was on Wall Street, where he worked in D.E. Shaw & Co., a New York-based hedge fund/investment bank.
He was promoted to senior vice president in 1990 and tasked to research investment possibilities on the internet. This role gave him insights into how people adopted the web, which brought about the idea for Amazon.
“Life’s too short to hang out with people who aren’t resourceful.” – Jeff Bezos
Founding and Leading Amazon
While working as senior vice president at D.E. Shaw & Co., Bezos discovered the internet’s untapped potential.
He read an article detailing how internet usage grew by 2,300% a year and figured he could tap into the opportunities presented by this growth.
After researching multiple mail-order items, Bezos settled on books and launched Amazon.com on July 9, 1995, using financial backing from family and friends.
Despite having a rolling career in finance, Bezos dared to quit his job and relocate to Seattle to grow Amazon.
When He Was a Child, Jeff Bezos Was a Tinkerer and an Entrepreneur.
Amazon became an immediate success, earning sales amounting to $20,000 in just two months without any publicity or promotional campaigns.
Bezos initially worked in a garage with a team of five employees, then relocated the office to a two-bedroom apartment in the city. By 1996, Amazon had more than 100 employees and boasted $15.7 million in sales revenue.
Bezos began expanding into new mail-order products, starting with music. He took Amazon public in 1997 at $18 per share, thus becoming an instant billionaire.
Under Bezos’ leadership, Amazon grew in sales and scale until the company began clocking billions in annual revenue. In 2018, the company had a valuation of $1 trillion, thus becoming the second company worth a trillion dollars.
Amazon also ventured into offerings such as Amazon Studio, Kindle, Fire Phone, and Prime Air (a drone service). Amazon also acquired Whole Foods in 2017 for $13.7 billion.
“If you don’t understand the details of your business you are going to fail.”- Jeff Bezos
Venturing Outside Amazon
Bezos founded Blue Origin, a space travel company, in 2000 and operated it quietly for over a decade. In 2019, NASA chose his company as one of those tasked to reach space, particularly the moon and Mars.
In 2013, Bezos purchased The Washington Post for $250 million.
He also launched Bezos Day One Fund in 2018 and Earth Fund in 2020 to serve philanthropic purposes. Bezos stepped down as Amazon CEO in the third quarter of 2021.
“What’s dangerous is not to evolve.” – Jeff Bezos
Personal Life
Bezos met his now ex-wife, Mackenzie Tuttle, when working at D.E Shaw & Co. The two dated for a couple of months and married in 1993.
Bezos and Mackenzie raised four children, an adopted daughter, and three sons. Bezos and Mackenzie divorced in 2019, during which Mackenzie received approximately 4% of Amazon.
“If you do build a great experience, customers tell each other about that. Word of mouth is very powerful.” – Jeff Bezos
Final Thoughts: Dare to Dream Like Jeff Bezos
Venturing into business takes a substantial amount of risk. Jeff Bezos took this risk when he quit his high-paying corporate job and moved to Seattle to start Amazon.
He is an inspiration to many people out there who dream of starting a business or chasing a goal. It takes sacrifice, but in the end, it is worth it.
Jeff Bezos Timeline
Jeff Bezos Timeline1964:
Bezos enters the world in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
1968:
Bezos attends River Oaks Elementary School in Houston, Texas.
1982:
Bezos graduates from high school.
1986:
Bezos graduates from Princeton University with an undergraduate degree in computer science and electrical engineering.
1990:
Bezos becomes vice president at D.E Shaw & Co.
1993:
Bezos marries Mackenzie Tuttle.
1994:
Bezos quits his corporate job at D.E. Shaw & Co. and starts Amazon.
1997:
Bezos takes Amazon public.
2000:
Bezos founds Blue Origin, an aerospace travel company.
2013:
Bezos acquires The Washington Post.
2018:
Bezos launches Bezos Day One Fund.
2019:
Bezos divorces Mackenzie Tuttle.
2020:
Bezos launches Bezos Earth Fund.
2021:
Bezos steps down as CEO of Amazon.
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Lessons We Can Learn From Jeff Bezos
Numerous lessons can be learned from Jeff Bezos. For this post, I have chosen to focus on just one regarding customer experience.
According to an interview with Jeff Bezos, his primary concern was customer satisfaction. It was his primary focus and one of the founding principles of amazon.com.
During an interview, Jeff Bezos appeared obsessed with the customer experience, and he is correct!
When customer experience is your primary concern, you view your products, services, and customer service differently.
You are no longer concerned with how successful your company will be; rather, you are concerned with how good you can make the customer experience.
As a result of enhanced customer experience, your company grows and becomes successful. When you develop a winning formula catered to your customers, you continue to improve it.
A business without customers isn’t really a business; it’s more of a hobby; therefore, your customer base is one of the most crucial aspects of your enterprise. Consequently, it makes sense to focus most of your efforts on enhancing the customer experience.
Amazon’s success is not by luck or being at the right place at the right time. It was by design. Amazon has made great strides in customer experience and is currently the web’s leading e-commerce site.
Who could have envisioned in the late 90s that you could buy a product from a website to have it delivered to your door the same or the next day?
Some of the features that enhance the user experience include the following:
- A user-friendly website.
- Amazon Prime is a great deal and pays for itself with just a few annual shipments.
- A no-hassle superior return policy.
- Search capabilities.
- Product recommendations are based on the product you are viewing.
- Customer feedback and rating and reviews for the purchase you are considering.
Sometimes when looking to buy something important in a physical store, it’s difficult to find help or, more importantly, employees with knowledge of the product.
So I’ll go home and purchase it on Amazon, where I can find out about the product, do research, and even price comparisons. And people wonder why e-commerce is overtaking brick-and-mortar retailing.
Jeff Bezos is obsessed with customer experience, which shows when you shop on Amazon.
Therefore, when considering ways to enhance your business, you should focus on the customer experience and allow ideas to flow.
Frequently Asked Questions
The information in this post answers many of the questions about Jeff Bezos. This section provides a summary and any additional information.
1. Who owns Amazon now?
Bezos is still the largest shareholder in Amazon, with a 10% stake. Other shareholders include The Vanguard Group Inc. (6.52%), BlackRock Fund Advisors (3.68%), and SSgA Funds Management Inc. (3.23%), among others.
2. Was Jeff Bezos born rich?
Jeff Bezos was not born rich. His parents were still in their teens. He was, however, raised in a comfortable environment, although not wealthy to any extent.
3. Who is Jeff Bezos leaving his money to?
Jeff Bezos plans to donate most of his money to charity instead of leaving his fortune to his children. He has, however, invested in more than 98 companies and organizations.
4. How many billions does Jeff Bezos have?
Jeff Bezos has a net worth of $136 billion as of February 2023. He is the third wealthiest individual in the world.
5. How many companies does Jeff Bezos own?
Jeff Bezos owns three companies, Amazon, The Washington Post, and Blue Origin. He acquired The Washington Post in 2013 and founded Blue Origin to achieve his childhood dream of space exploration.
6. Where did Bezos get his money?
Bezos attained most of his wealth from owning Amazon. He grew his company to become a trillion-dollar corporation and a leading global retailer.
7. Where is Jeff Bezos investing his money?
Bezos has invested in multiple startups, including strategic ones like Airbnb, Uber, and Workday. He also founded Blue Origin, an aerospace travel company.
8 At what age did Jeff Bezos become a billionaire?
Jeff Bezos became a billionaire almost overnight when he took Amazon public at $18 per share.
9. Does Jeff Bezos get a salary?
Bezos earned $88,840 as a base salary when serving as CEO of Amazon, which amounted to approximately $1.6 million a year after including compensational benefits.
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