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Rockets, parties, mega yacht: Jeff Bezos shows how you can have fun with billions. He will now be 60 years old.
Author: Melissa Schumacher
In the Bloomberg financial service’s billionaire ranking, Bezos is in second place with an estimated fortune of over 150 billion francs. The only person standing in front of him is Tesla boss Elon Musk. But his meteoric rise into the sphere of the super-rich actually begins quite modestly for him.
The born inventor
Jeffrey Preston Bezos was born on January 12, 1964 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His mother was only 16 years old at the time. His parents divorced when he was young. At the age of four, Bezos was adopted by his stepfather.
Caption: Jeff Bezos (left) with his mother and his younger half-siblings, Mark and Christina Bezos. Instagram/jeffbezos
He is a smart child and enjoys tinkering from an early age. He completed his school years and his studies in computer science and electrical energy technology with top grades. In the 1990s, he gave up a promising career on New York’s Wall Street and drove across the USA to Seattle to make a dream come true.
The way to the top
It was only the beginning of the internet back then, but Bezos had an idea: sell books on the web. No sooner said than done: In July 1995 he founded the company “Amazon” in a garage.
Over the years, Bezos has made a name for himself as an aggressive innovator – and it seems to be working. The company becomes the world‘s largest online retailer and Jeff Bezos becomes the wealthiest person in the world with a fortune of over $200 billion.
But his company is repeatedly criticized. Among other things, because of environmental violations and unfair working conditions. Jeff Bezos donates record sums, partly improves his image.
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Legend: The founding of the online bookstore Amazon makes Jeff Bezos rich. Here he poses with a stack of books in a Seattle warehouse in 1997. Getty Images/Paul Souders
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Legend: Around 27 years after Amazon was founded, Jeff Bezos is resigning from management. He wants to dedicate himself to another project: space. Getty Images/Yves Forestier/Sygma
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Legend: Jeff Bezos was married to MacKenzie Scott for 25 years. She helped him build Amazon. Getty Images/Lars Niki
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Legend: In 2019, the two divorced when Jeff Bezos’s affair came to light. Getty Images/Jerod Harris
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Legend: In 2000, Bezos founded the space company Blue Origin. Getty Images/Matthew Staver/Bloomberg
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Legend: On July 20, 2021, his company’s first rocket took off in Texas. Getty Images/Joe Raedle
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Caption: Bezos celebrates after his space company’s first manned rocket flew into space (2021). Getty Images/Joe Raedle
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Legend: And Jeff Bezos also feels at home among international celebrities. Seen here at the Met Gala between Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner and actor Jared Leto (2019). Getty Images/Kevin Mazur/MG19
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Legend: Lauren Sanchez has been the woman at Jeff Bezos’ side since 2019. Getty Images/Amy Sussman
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Legend: Jeff Bezos doesn’t just own a yacht. Seen here are the two boats named “Koru” and “Abeona”. Getty Images/Robino Salvatore
But soon the world becomes too small for him – he wants to go into space. Bezos is investing his assets in his own space company “Blue Origin” and will leave the CEO position at Amazon in the summer of 2021.
Expensive divorce
At the beginning of 2019, an affair between Bezos and former television presenter Lauren Sanchez came to light. Both were married at the time. Bezos’ then-wife, MacKenzie Scott, becomes one of the world‘s wealthiest women as a result of the divorce. He has four children with her: an adopted daughter and three sons.
Caption: A rare image: Jeff Bezos with his ex-wife and their four children at a film premiere in San Diego (2016). Getty Images/Todd Williamson
The divorce is anything but undramatic. Bezos publicly accuses the National Enquirer tabloid of trying to blackmail him with information about the affair.
Sanchez’s brother is later revealed to be a tipster. The relationship with Sanchez still survives. The two have been in a relationship since 2019. The couple announced their engagement in May 2023.
More is always possible
Today the man of extremes finds fun in spending money. Bezos is involved in the space race of billionaires. His yacht “Koru”, built in the Netherlands, is said to have cost around half a billion dollars. Bezos bought the property in Beverly Hills for 140 million francs. And he has also been able to call the Washington Post newspaper his own for over ten years.
Jeff Bezos shows again and again: No matter how much you have – more is always possible.