[253] He had lobbied Paramount for the role apropos of Alexa and his personal/professional interest in speech recognition. Nonetheless, he certainly has enough money to buy a sports team with the fortune he has accumulated from Amazon. [96] After the crash, Bezos has been superstitiously wearing his "lucky" Texas Cowboy boots to all rocket launches. [11] On July 5, 2021, Bezos stepped down as the CEO and President of Amazon and transferred to the role of executive chairman; Andy Jassy, the chief of Amazon's cloud computing division,[12][13] succeeded Bezos as the CEO and President of Amazon. [236][115] Bezos treatment of employees at The Washington Post has also drawn scrutiny. [44] Bezos was promoted to head of development and director of customer service thereafter. WebFor the years he did pay federal income taxes between 2006 and 2018, Bezos paid a total of about $1.4 billion on a reported income of $6.5 billion, or a rate of about 21.5%. [192][194], After a rumor broke out that Amazon was developing a smartphone, Bezos's net worth rose to $30.5billion in 2014. He holds a degree in electrical engineering and computer science. [18] Jrgensen was a Danish American and was born in Chicago to a family of Baptists. [87] On February 2, 2021, Bezos sent an email[88] to all Amazon employees, telling them the transition would give him "the time and energy [he] need[s] to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and [his] other passions. WNBA star Chiney Ogwumike is also an investor. His wealth surpassed $100billion for the first time on November 24, 2017, and he was formally designated the wealthiest person in the world by Forbes on March 6, 2018, with a net worth of $112billion. [51] At the time, website listings were alphabetized, so a name starting with "A" would appear sooner when customers conducted online searches. Watch Blue Origin Fly 'Mannequin Skywalker' to Space and Back", "Blue Origin plans growth spurt this year", "Jeff Bezos Says He Is Selling $1 Billion a Year in Amazon Stock to Finance Race to Space", "Jeff Bezos: Blue Origin Wants to Colonize the Solar System", "Jeff Bezos: 'We will have to leave this planet and it's going to make this planet better', "Exclusive: Jeff Bezos plans to charge at least $200,000 for space", "Washington Post to be sold to Jeff Bezos", "Jeff Bezos is buying The Washington Post. Bezos Expeditions, the personal investment firm of the Amazon CEO, is one of the companies tied to this funding round. [127][128] The engines are currently on display at the Seattle Museum of Flight. The Amazon CEO Keeps His Beliefs to Himself", "What we know, and don't know, about Jeff Bezos' religious beliefs", "Amazon Chief Survives Helicopter Crash in Texas", "Amazon founder Jeff Bezos reveals Star Trek Beyond alien cameo", "Jeff Bezos, long known for guarding his privacy, faces his most public and personal crisis", "Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and wife MacKenzie to divorce after 25 years of marriage", "Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos are getting divorced after 25 years of marriage", "Jeff Bezos to keep 75 percent of couple's Amazon stock after finalizing divorce", "Amazon's Jeff Bezos, wife, make $2.5million donation for gay marriage", "Amazon.com Contributions to Federal Candidates, 2012 cycles", "How to Understand Donald Trump's #AmazonWashingtonPost Tweet in 3 Easy Steps", "Slammed by Trump, Amazon's Jeff Bezos Chooses Silence", "Why Jeff Bezos Is Dumping Cash into Trump's Swamp", "Donald Trump called out Jeff Bezos on Twitter. In September 2016, Bezos received a $250,000 prize for winning the Heinlein Prize for Advances in Space Commercialization, which he donated to the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space. Web[DanSnydersYacht] Did Jerry Jones meet with Jeff Bezos to discuss the Commanders sale?!! "Bezos" redirects here. The league and its [80] While preparing to introduce the bill, Sanders opined: "Instead of attempting to explore Mars or go to the moon, how about Jeff Bezos pays his workers a living wage? [151][bettersourceneeded] In May 2014, the International Trade Union Confederation named Bezos the "World's Worst Boss", with its general secretary Sharan Burrow saying: "Jeff Bezos represents the inhumanity of employers who are promoting the North American corporate model",[152] while in 2019, Harvard Business Review, which ranked Bezos the best-performing CEO for 4 years in a row since 2014, did not rank him even in the top 100, citing Amazon's "relatively low ESG (environment, social, and governance) scores" that reflect "risks created by working conditions and employment policies, data security, and antitrust issues. [190] From 2005 to 2007, he quadrupled his net worth to $8.7billion. [155][156], Day 1: start upDay 2: stasisDay 3: irrelevanceDay 4: "excruciating, painful decline"Day 5: death, Bezos has stated "it is always Day 1" to describe his growth mindset. [204], On March 6, 2018, Bezos was designated the wealthiest person in the world, with a registered net worth of $112billion. [233], Bezos is the owner of the Y721, a luxury superyacht estimated to cost more than $500,000,000. [255], On January 9, 2019, Bezos and MacKenzie announced on Twitter their intent to divorce after a "long period" of separation. ", "Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Bezos have finalized their divorce agreement", "World's richest man Jeff Bezos divorces", "Jeff Bezos, World's Richest Person, Announces Divorce After 25 Years Of Marriage", "MacKenzie Bezos, author, philanthropist, and soon to be world's richest woman? "[89], In September 2000, Bezos founded Blue Origin, a human spaceflight startup. [278] In March 2019, Bezos's security consultant accused the Saudi government of hacking Bezos's phone. [281][282] Saudi Arabia has denied the claim. [98] He has been compared to Branson and Elon Musk as all three are billionaires who prioritize spaceflight among their business interests. If he said today, nobody who is employed at Amazon will receive less than a living wage, it would send a message to every corporation in America. Bezos' net worth is worth $119 billion, according to Forbes , and he'd likely be able to outbid other potential buyers. This fundraise reflects the incredible growth opportunities associated with such a market leading position, including the opportunity to bring Overtime Elite into the world," said Michael Spirito, a partner at investment firm Sapphire Sport, who led the funding round. [92] Rob Meyerson led Blue Origin from 2003 to 2017 and served as its first president. [27] Jeff would later purchase this ranch and expand it from 25,000 acres (10,117ha) to 300,000 acres (121,406ha). Since its launch in 2016, Overtime said, it has nearly 50 million social media followers. As CBS Sports reported back in 2019, Bezos spent some time getting close with several owners back then and he had "strong support within the league" to become an owner at that point. [237] In 2013, more than 400 Washington Post employees wrote an open letter to Bezos criticizing his poor wages and benefits for his employees. [195][196] A year later, Bezos entered the top ten when he increased his net worth to a total of $50.3billion. [100] Later in November, Blue Origin's New Shepard space vehicle successfully rocketed into space and reached its planned test altitude of 329,839 feet (100.5 kilometers) before executing a vertical landing back at the launch site in West Texas. We Have 4 Guesses", "Jeff Bezos to fund schools where 'child will be the customer' with new charity", "Jeff Bezos to Create $2 Billion Fund for Homeless, Preschools", "Jeff Bezos Unveils Multibillion-Dollar Plans For Charitable Giving", "Jeff Bezos donates $33million to scholarship fund for 'dreamers', "Backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, Breakthrough Energy Ventures places first bets on power storage", "Jeff Bezos donates $10million to organization that helps veterans run for office", "Amazon founder Jeff Bezos commits $10bn to fight climate change", "Jeff Bezos: World's richest man pledges $10bn to fight climate change", "Bezos Earth Fund announces first grants totaling $791M of his $10B pledge to help planet", "Bezos Earth Fund gives nearly $800 million to climate groups in first round of grants", "Jeff Bezos names first recipients of his $10 billion Earth Fund for combating climate change", "Twitter boss pledges $1bn for coronavirus relief", "Why Jeff Bezos's $100 million donation to food banks won't satisfy his critics", "Jeff Bezos Pledges $2B for Nature Conservation as World Leaders Address Deforestation, Emissions", Jeff Bezos's tuition-free preschool is expanding to new locations in Texas and Florida. [104] Since 2016, Bezos has spoken more freely about his hopes to colonize the solar system, and has been selling US$1 billion in Amazon stock each year to capitalize Blue Origin in an effort to support this endeavor. Meanwhile, Rodgers insists he won't "drag'' out the decision about when and where and why and if he'll play in 2023. Shares of the company were only $7 on average that year. [223][224] According to Forbes, had the Washington state common law applied to their divorce without a prenuptial agreement, Bezos's wealth could have been equitably divided with his ex-wife;[225][226] however, she eventually received 25% of Bezos's Amazon shares, valued at approximately $36billion, making her the third-richest woman in the world. [65] A year later, Bezos took on 130,000 new employees when he ramped up hiring at company distribution centers. ", "Amazon is celebrating its 25th birthday. [1/2] Sep 15, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos in attendance before the Kansas City Chiefs play against the Los Angeles Well, if youre Amazon founder Jeff Bezos you may just BUY that show and add it to your own streaming platform. [39] To push Amazon forward, Bezos developed the mantra "Get Big Fast", establishing the company's need to scale its operations to produce market dominance. [163], He meets with Amazon investors for a total of only six hours a year. [101] He has repeatedly called for increased inter-space energy and industrial manufacturing to decrease the negative costs associated with business-related pollution. Richard Lautens | Toronto Star | Getty Images. He described this life philosophy by stating: "When I'm 80, am I going to regret leaving Wall Street? WebForbes estimates that Bezos has donated $2.4 billionless than 2% of his total net worthto charitable causes during his lifetime. [203] His wealth's rapid growth from 2016 to 2017 sparked a variety of assessments about how much money Bezos earned on a controlled, reduced time scale. [202] When the 2017 list was issued, Bezos's net worth was registered at $72.8billion, adding $27.6billion from the previous year. [17] At the time of Jeff's birth, his mother was a 17-year-old high-school student and his father was 19 years old. Bezos has turned this into his hobby, working with teams in submarines (sometimes bringing along his family) to retrieve these historic relics. Although the crash was viewed as a setback, news outlets noted how far the company went from its founding-to-date in advancing spaceflight. [110] To execute the sale, he established limited liability company Nash Holdings to serve as a holding company through which he would own the newspaper. [271][272] On July 6, 2021, the Pentagon cancelled the JEDI contract with Microsoft, citing that "due to evolving requirements, increased cloud conversancy, and industry advances, the JEDI Cloud contract no longer meets its needs. [21] After his parents divorced, his mother married Cuban immigrant Miguel "Mike" Bezos in April 1968. [95] In September 2011, one of the company's unmanned prototype vehicles crashed during a short-hop test flight. Forensic analysis of Bezos's mobile phone conducted by advisory firm FTI Consulting, concluded it "highly probable" that the hack was achieved using a malicious file hidden in a video sent in a WhatsApp message to Bezos from the personal account of the crown prince on May 1, 2018. "I don't want to drag anybody around," he said . With a net worth of US$128 billion as of February 2023, Bezos is the third-wealthiest person in the world and was the wealthiest from 2017 to 2021 according to both Bloomberg's Billionaires Index and Forbes. [213] The Motley Fool estimated that if Bezos had not sold any of his shares from its original public offering in 1997, his net worth would sit at $181billion in 2018. In this handout image provided by SportsPro, Dan Porter, Overtime speaks during the SportsPro OTT Summit USA 2020 at Turner Studios on February 19, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. [45][246] In 1994, they moved across the country to Seattle, Washington, where Bezos founded Amazon. ", "Jeff Bezos's Net Worth Hits Record $151 Billion After Strong Amazon 'Prime Day', "Jeff Bezos Becomes the Richest Man in Modern History, Topping $150 Billion", "Jeff Bezos Is Now the Richest Man in Modern History, Topping $150 Billion", "Jeff Bezos becomes the richest person in modern history amid Amazon Prime Day kickoff", "Is Jeff Bezos Really the Richest of Them All? [197] By the time the Forbes list was calculated in March 2016, his net worth was registered at $45.2billion. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos attended the Sports Illustrated Super Bowl party. Jeff Bezos was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on January 12, 1964. He was raised largely in Houston, Texas, and moved to Miami, Florida, as a teenager. [56] In response to critical reports from Fortune and Barron's, Bezos maintained that the growth of the Internet would overtake competition from larger book retailers such as Borders and Barnes & Noble. [123] Bezos used Bezos Expeditions to fund several philanthropic projects, including an Innovation center at the Seattle Museum of History and Industry and the Bezos Center for Neural Circuit Dynamics at Princeton Neuroscience Institute.