Do you Know the net worth of Jeff Bezos? Have you ever guessed where he comes from and where he attended school? Do you know how Jeff’s career began and how he made his wealth? This article answers all your questions about Jeff Bezos net worth.
Who is Jeff Bezos
Jeffrey Preston Bezos is an American entrepreneur, media proprietor, investor, and computer engineer. He is the founder and executive chairman of Amazon, where he previously served as the president and CEO. With a net worth of around US$200 billion as of December 2021, he is the second-wealthiest person in the world according to both Forbes and Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.
Where Jeff Bezos Originated
Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on January 12, 1964, the son of Jacklyn (née Gise) and Theodore Jorgensen. His biological great-grandfather, John Jørgensen, was born on the small island of Samsø, Denmark. John immigrated to Chicago sometime around 1900 and had a son, Theodore “Ted” John Jorgensen (born 1917) with his wife, Ida Minnie Jorgensen, who was also born in Denmark. This son was the father of Ted Jorgensen (born 1944), Bezos’ biological father.
At the time of Jeffrey’s birth, his mother was a 17-year-old high school student and his father was 19 years old. After completing high school despite challenging conditions, Jacklyn attended night school while bringing Jeffrey along as a baby. After his parents divorced, his mother married Cuban immigrant Miguel “Mike” Bezos in April 1968. Shortly after the wedding, Mike adopted four-year-old Jeffrey, whose surname was then legally changed from Jorgensen to Bezos.
After Mike had received his degree from the University of New Mexico, the family moved to Houston, Texas, so that he could begin working as an engineer for Exxon. Bezos’ maternal grandfather was Lawrence Preston Gise, a regional director of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in Albuquerque. Gise retired early to his family’s ranch near Cotulla, Texas, where Bezos would spend many summers in his youth. Bezos would later purchase this ranch and expand it from 25,000 acres (10,117 ha) to 300,000 acres (121,406 ha). His maternal grandmother was Mattie Louise Gise (née Strait), through whom he is a cousin of country singer George Strait. Bezos displayed scientific interests and technological proficiency, and once rigged an electric alarm to keep his younger siblings out of his room. The family moved to Miami, Florida, where Bezos attended Miami Palmetto High School. While Bezos was in high school, he worked at McDonald’s as a short-order line cook during the breakfast shift.
Education
Jeff attended River Oaks Elementary School in Houston from fourth to sixth grade. Bezos attended the Student Science Training Program at the University of Florida. He was high school valedictorian, a National Merit Scholar and a Silver Knight Award winner in 1982. In his graduation speech, Bezos told the audience he dreamed of the day when mankind would colonize space.
In 1986, he graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University with a 4.2 GPA and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree (B.S.E.) in electrical engineering and computer science; he was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa. While at Princeton, Bezos was a member of the Quadrangle Club, one of Princeton’s 11 eating clubs. In addition, he was elected to Tau Beta Pi and was the president of the Princeton chapter of the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS).
Businesses Owned, Founded of Co-owned
Jeff Bezos founded and co-founded the following companies;
- Amazon
- Blue Origin
- Washington Post
- Bezos Expeditions
- Altos Labs
His Wealth
Bezos first became a millionaire in 1997 after raising $54 million through Amazon’s initial public offering (IPO). He was first included on the Forbes World’s Billionaires list in 1999 with a registered net worth of $10.1 billion. His net worth decreased to $6.1 billion a year later, a 40.5% drop. His wealth plummeted even more the following year, dropping 66.6% to $2.0 billion. He lost $500 million the following year, which brought his net worth down to $1.5 billion. The following year, his net worth increased by 104% to $2.5 billion. From 2005 to 2007, he quadrupled his net worth to $8.7 billion. After the financial crisis and succeeding economic recession, his net worth would decrease to $6.8 billion—a 17.7% drop. His wealth rose by 85.2% in 2010, leaving him with $12.6 billion. This percentage increase ascended him to the 43rd spot on the ranking from 68th.
After a rumor broke out that Amazon was developing a smartphone, Bezos’s net worth rose to $30.5 billion in 2014. A year later, Bezos entered the top ten when he increased his net worth to a total of $50.3 billion. Bezos rose to be the 5th richest person in the world hours before market close; he gained $7 billion in one hour. By the time the Forbes list was calculated in March 2016, his net worth was registered at $45.2 billion. However, just months later in October 2016, his wealth increased by $16.2 billion to $66.5 billion unofficially ranking him the third richest person in the world behind Warren Buffett. After sporadic jumps in Amazon’s share price, in July 2017 he briefly unseated Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates as the wealthiest person in the world.
Summary of Jeff Bezos Net Worth
- Jeff Bezos founded e-commerce giant Amazon in 1994 out of his garage in Seattle. He stepped down as CEO to become executive chairman on July 5, 2021.
- Amazon thrived during the pandemic; revenues in 2020 grew 38% to $386 billion as people stayed home and made online purchases.
- In April 2020, Bezos said he would give $100 million to Feed America, a nonprofit that operates food banks and food pantries across the country.
- Amazon has faced criticism from U.S. senators and the general public for its treatment of warehouse workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
- He and his wife MacKenzie divorced in 2019 after 25 years of marriage and he transferred a quarter of his 16% Amazon stake to her.
- Bezos owns The Washington Post and Blue Origin, an aerospace company that is developing rockets for commercial use.