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How an online bookstore in a garage became the everything store — and funded a space company
Jeff Bezos is the founder of Amazon, the company that transformed retail, popularised cloud computing and changed how billions of people shop and consume media. He is also the founder of rocket company Blue Origin and owner of The Washington Post. For years he was the world's richest person, and he remains one of the most influential business leaders of the internet age.
Bezos was born Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen on 12 January 1964 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His mother, Jacklyn, later married Cuban immigrant Miguel "Mike" Bezos, who adopted Jeff. He spent summers on his grandfather's Texas ranch, where he learned to fix machinery — an experience he often credits for his self-reliance. He showed an early fascination with space and science.
Bezos graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1986 with degrees in electrical engineering and computer science. He worked at fintech firm Fitel, then at Bankers Trust and the hedge fund D. E. Shaw, where he became the youngest senior vice-president.
In 1994, after reading that web usage was growing by more than 2,000% a year, Bezos quit his job, drove to Seattle and founded Amazon in his garage in Bellevue, Washington. It began as an online bookstore and launched in July 1995.
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1997 | Amazon goes public |
| 2005 | Launches Amazon Prime |
| 2006 | Launches Amazon Web Services (AWS) |
| 2007 | Introduces the Kindle e-reader |
| 2014 | Launches Echo and the Alexa voice assistant |
| 2017 | Acquires Whole Foods Market |
| 2021 | Steps down as CEO; Andy Jassy takes over |
Bezos's management philosophy — obsessive focus on customers, long-term thinking over short-term profits, and his "Day 1" mentality — became widely studied in business schools.
Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000 with the long-term goal of moving heavy industry into space and enabling millions of people to live and work there. Key moments:
Amazon under Bezos faced criticism over warehouse working conditions, union opposition, tax practices and market power, including antitrust lawsuits. His ownership of The Washington Post has also drawn debate over editorial independence.
Bezos was married to novelist MacKenzie Scott from 1993 to 2019; they have four children. He married journalist and helicopter pilot Lauren Sánchez in Venice in June 2025.
No. He stepped down in July 2021 and is now executive chairman. Andy Jassy is CEO.
Bezos's space company, which builds the New Shepard and New Glenn rockets and lunar landers.
Yes, he bought it personally in 2013.
Princeton University, earning degrees in electrical engineering and computer science.
Jeff Bezos built Amazon by thinking in decades rather than quarters, reshaping retail and cloud computing worldwide. Now focused on space, he is applying the same patient, long-term approach to one of the hardest engineering challenges of all — with mixed results so far.
