From bookstore to global e-commerce giant: discover the journey and success of Jeff Bezos, the self-made man serial entrepreneur.
Jeff Bezos is undoubtedly one of the most influential personalities of the last decade. He is famous for his impressive wealth, and for the fact that his invention is one of the most used in the world. Focus on this genius entrepreneur, now the second richest man in the world
Who is Jeff Bezos?
January 12, 1964 is a very important date. It is the day when the man who would become a major figure in the world economy was born: Jeff Bezos. Jeffrey Bezos was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Born Jeffrey Jorgensen, Jeff Bezos is the son of Ted Jorgensen and Jacklyn Gise. The early years of his life are not desirable. Indeed, at the time of his birth, his parents were still in high school. His 18 year old father abandoned his 16 year old mother a few months after his birth. Jacklyn Gise, abandoned by her husband, met Miguel Bezos. This immigrant from Cuba has been living in the United States for 15 years and is studying at the University of Albuquerque. Jacklyn and Miguel got married in 1968. Miguel decided to adopt Jeff and raise him as his own son.
Jeff Bezos is a curious, precocious and very intelligent child. While still in high school, he started his own business. It was a summer camp for children, which was Jeff Bezos' first step into the world of entrepreneurship.
After high school, Jeff Bezos began his studies at the prestigious Princeton University. In 1986, at the age of 22, he obtained his Bachelor of Arts and Science in computer science. After his studies, he began a career on the Wall Street stock exchange. Several financial companies took advantage of his know-how and his flawless intelligence, among them D.E Shaw & Co.
If there is one thing that is clear about Jeff Bezos, it is that he is an extremely intelligent man. However, there is no public mention of his IQ. Some people estimate him to be over 150, when an IQ of 130 makes a person gifted.
Amazon, or the beginning of a great adventure
The year he turned 30, in 1994, Jeff Bezos made a rather unusual discovery. He learned that the use of the Internet was increasing by 2,300% per year. This information is all the more incredible because in 1994, the Internet was just 5 years old. Jeff Bezos is a man with incredible intuition. Although the internet was not yet as popular and used as it is today, he quickly understood the potential of this tool.
After this observation, Jeff Bezos decided to try his luck by betting on the Internet. On July 5, 1994, he realized his wish to create the largest bookstore in the world by founding Amazon.com. The name of his company comes from the name of the largest and longest river in the world, the Amazon.
How did Jeff Bezos create Amazon?
Amazon didn't start out in a big office with glass fronts. On the contrary, Amazon's beginnings are far from glorious. It all started in the back of a garage, where Jeff Bezos and several employees were working on the development of a software. It was Cadabra.Inc, the "ancestor" of Amazon.
However, big business also means big investments. To get his company off the ground, Jeff Bezos asked his parents for help by getting them to invest. Thanks to his parents, Jeff Bezos obtained a capital of 245 573 dollars. With this money, Amazon.com was able to open its doors in July 1995. At the time, it only sold books. However, despite the "simplicity" of the concept, it was a revolutionary idea. Indeed, thanks to the online bookstore, it is no longer necessary to travel to buy books. Moreover, thanks to the Internet, the search for references is made easier, and people wishing to buy a book benefit from a brief description to get an idea of what it contains. In other words, finding a particular book is simplified.
2 years later, in May 1997, Amazon was listed on the Wall Street Stock Exchange. Amazon's shares were then worth 18 USD.
Always pragmatic and reasonable, Jeff Bezos does not expect Amazon to make a profit for 4 or 5 years. This tends to upset shareholders who want to earn money for their investment, and who are frustrated by the idea that the company is not growing as it should.
The trend changes dramatically when the use of the Internet increases. In 2001, 6 years after its creation, Amazon finally managed to make a profit. It is a sum of 5 million USD, or a profit of 1 cent per share.
Even if the profits don't seem impressive, this indication proves that this new business model is revolutionary, and indeed profitable.
Blue Origin: towards the exploration of space
If you do your research on Google, you will discover that Jeff Bezos is not a man who is satisfied with what he has. Like all great minds, he needs to move, to be boosted by some kind of desire to move forward, and, above all, to innovate by going further and further.
If Jeff Bezos is known as the founder of Amazon, he is also the founder of the company Blue Origin. The latter is not necessarily known to the general public, but is still influential in the world of technology.
Blue Origin is a company that specializes in space travel, aerospace production and suborbital flights. Its activities make it completely different from Amazon. Indeed, the latter is a website that addresses a wide audience. Its main goal is to allow ordinary people to do their shopping in complete comfort, from their homes. They have access to a wide and diverse choice of products, brands, with prices to suit all budgets. Blue Origin is a company whose main target is the scientific community. In fact, it successfully launched a rocket in 2015.
Among Blue Origin's productions are the New Shepard suborbital rocket and several cryogenic engines.
Still in operation, the company is focusing all its attention on the construction of New Glenn. This is a heavy-lift launch vehicle, scheduled to be sent into space in 2023.
Jeff Bezos: a smart entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship has no secrets for Jeff Bezos. If his two main companies are Amazon and Blue Origin, they are not the only ones under his leadership. Indeed, among the other companies that are owned by Jeff Bezos, we can mention:
IMDb; Alexa Internet; Sellaband; Audible.com; Amie Street; LibraryThing; Statistically Improbable Phrases; Kiva Systems, now Amazon Robotics.
One of Jeff Bezos' biggest moves was the acquisition of the American newspaper The Washington Post in 2013. This is one of the most influential newspapers in the world. This allows Bezos to establish his influence in the media business.
The evolution of Amazon
Even though the other companies that Jeff Bezos owns are thriving, next to Amazon, they almost look like "little start-ups" that he has invested in.
Amazon has never stopped expanding. The company has gone from online book trading to online shopping in general. Today, everything can be found on Amazon. From storage items to high-tech products to appliances to clothing, absolutely everything is available on Amazon. One of the biggest advantages of the company is that it can deliver worldwide (for a delivery fee). This has contributed tremendously to Amazon's popularity.
Amazon is also getting into music and movie streaming with Amazon Music and Amazon Prime Video.
Amazon Music is a platform for listening to music in all genres. With over 90 million tracks available and new releases every month, it is one of the largest music and podcast streaming platforms in the world.
Conscious of the public's infatuation for movies and series, and especially, thanks to the evolution of the Internet which has become faster and easier to access, Jeff Bezos launched Amazon Prime Video. On this video streaming platform, it is possible to find the latest movies and series released, as well as Amazon Prime Video exclusives.
This diversification of Amazon is proof of Jeff Bezos' flair for money-making businesses.
Jeff Bezos didn't just create a website to sell books. He is the most important actor in the advent of e-commerce. If today, shopping on the Internet is something normal, Jeff Bezos has something to do with it. In other words, he is one of the pioneers of online shopping.
Let's remember that Amazon has a stock market value of USD 1.7 trillion and a turnover of USD 386 billion in 2020.
Why did Jeff Bezos leave Amazon?
Despite 27 successful years with Amazon, Jeff Bezos decided to end his career as CEO of "the world's largest bookstore".
But why did he decide to leave the management of one of the most powerful companies in the world? Simply because at the age of 57, he is working on other great projects. Jeff Bezos is focusing his attention on his other main company, Blue Origin. Indeed, Jeff Bezos is increasingly interested in space travel.
Although Jeff Bezos has left the leadership to his right-hand man, Andy Jassy, he still remains the executive chairman of Amazon.
The richest billionaire in the world (that was before Elon Musk!)
If, for many years, the richest man in the world was Bill Gates, it is no longer the case. Indeed, he has been stolen by Jeff Bezos, who himself has passed behind Elon Musk in 2022.
It should be noted that Jeff Bezos has a wealth of 158.1 billion USD.
Unusual, Jeff Bezos earns in 6 seconds the equivalent of a lifetime salary of an average man, that is to say about 714 000 USD. Even if he is "only" the 2nd richest man in the world, he is still the one who earns the most cash in a second.
A great philanthropist
If we tend to think that billionaires are people who are only interested in profit, Jeff Bezos is not one of them.
In fact, this man has a heart on his sleeve. One of Jeff Bezos' biggest donations is to several organizations that help the homeless, to the amount of 96.2 million USD.
This donation earned Jeff Bezos the title of America's number one philanthropist in 2018.
Jeff Bezos is also the co-founder of the Bezos Day One Fund. This is an association whose goal is to help and participate in the education of underprivileged communities. In this foundation, Jeff Bezos has invested two billion USD.
Various awards he has received
Thanks to everything he has done in his life, Jeff Bezos has been awarded several distinctions throughout his life:
1999: Time Magazine Personality of the Year. At 35 years old, Jeff Bezos is the fourth youngest person to obtain this distinction;
2014: first place in the ranking of the world's most successful CEOs, by the Harvard Business Review ;
2018: HRC National Equality Award by the Human Rights Campaign. The achievement of this distinction is due to Jeff Bezos' support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Jeff Bezos' personal life
In 1994, Jeff Bezos married MacKenzie Tuttle, an American writer and philanthropist. The couple became parents of 4 children, including a little girl adopted from China.
After 25 years together, the couple separated. Since his separation with his ex-wife, Jeff Bezos has not had any true relationship, at least, not officially.
Unusual: after her breakup with Jeff Bezos, Mackenzie Tuttle became one of the richest divorced women in the world.
Jeff Bezos is one of the 20 largest landowners in the United States. Indeed, among his personal assets are:
A huge mansion in Medina, near Seattle;
A 1,200 square meter house in Beverly Hills (one of the most expensive areas of Los Angeles);
Three apartments in The Century Tower in New York City;
The Textile Museum in Washington;
The Figure 2 Ranch in Texas;
Thousands of acres of land scattered across the United States.
The success story of Jeff Bezos is almost unbelievable. He managed to turn a simple bookstore into the largest online retailer in the world. Starting from a garage and a loan from his parents, Jeff Bezos may have had a rocky start, but he is now one of the richest people in the world.