Jeff Bezos quit his job at an investment bank in 1994 and moved to Seattle, Washington, to open a virtual bookstore. That shouldn't be an issue for Bezos, who with a net worth of $117.8 billion is one of the world's wealthiest people. [92] Rob Meyerson led Blue Origin from 2003 to 2017 and served as its first president. A local newspaper quoted his intention "to get all people off the earth and see it turned into a huge national park". Jeff himself revealed that before WebForbes estimates that Bezos has donated $2.4 billionless than 2% of his total net worthto charitable causes during his lifetime. He was high school valedictorian, a National Merit Scholar,[35][36] and a Silver Knight Award winner in 1982. [101] He has repeatedly called for increased inter-space energy and industrial manufacturing to decrease the negative costs associated with business-related pollution. In 2016, Bezos allowed select journalists to visit, tour, and photograph his facility. [45][43], In late 1993, Bezos read that the Internet was growing at a rate of 2300% a year and decided to establish an online bookstore. [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. When he studied at Stanford, he joined a variety of sports teams, including in-line skating, skiing, gymnastics, and trapeze. [140][141] This perception was detailed by Alan Deutschman, who described him as "talking in lists" and "[enumerating] the criteria, in order of importance, for every decision he has made. [285], In September 2018, Business Insider reported that Bezos was the only one of the top five billionaires in the world who had not signed the Giving Pledge, an initiative created by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett that encourages wealthy people to give away a majority of their wealth. He holds a degree in electrical engineering and computer science. [283], Bezos donated to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center several times between 2009 and 2017. [132][133] Journalist Mark O'Connell criticized Bezos's relentless customer focus as "very small" in terms of impact on humanity as a whole,[134] a sentiment technologist Tim O'Reilly agreed with. [233], Bezos is the owner of the Y721, a luxury superyacht estimated to cost more than $500,000,000. [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. As Commanders owner Daniel Snyder continues to ponder selling the team, unless he isnt, the reports regarding the involvement of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos are covering all bases. [51] In late 2002, rapid spending from Amazon caused it financial distress when revenues stagnated. "[82] Sanders's efforts elicited a response from Amazon which pointed to the 130,000 jobs it created in 2017 and called the $28,446 figure for its median salary "misleading" as it included part-time workers. [26] Lawrence retired early to his family's ranch near Cotulla, Texas, where Jeff would spend many summers in his youth. in electrical engineering and computer science; he was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa. [168] Bezos has cited Jeff Immelt (of New Enterprise Associates),[169] Warren Buffett (of Berkshire Hathaway), Jamie Dimon (of JPMorgan Chase), and Bob Iger (of Walt Disney) as major influences on his leadership style. The Raptors Global Ambassador Drake cheers on the team as the Toronto Raptors beat the Philadelphia 76ers 101-96 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. [136] Throughout the early 2000s, he was perceived to be geeky or nerdy. Sports media company Overtime has secured an $80 million fundraising round with investors including Jeff Bezos investment firm, global entertainer Drake, [51], In 1998, Bezos diversified into the online sale of music and video, and by the end of the year he had expanded the company's products to include a variety of other consumer goods. Perez of FrontOfficeSports.com reports that no bid exceeded $6.3 billion. On August 5, 2013, Bezos announced his purchase of The Washington Post for $250million in cash,[109] at the suggestion of his friend, Don Graham. He should pay his workers first", "If Jeff Bezos wants to help low-income people why not just pay them better? "We believe this is just the tip of the iceberg, as we develop new ways for Overtime to engage with and entertain the next generation of athletes and fans.". [293][294], In January 2018, Bezos made a $33million donation to TheDream.US, a college scholarship fund for undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as minors. [260] In 2012, he donated to Amazon's political action committee (PAC),[260] which has given $56,000 and $74,500 to Democrats and Republicans, respectively. [21] After his parents divorced, his mother married Cuban immigrant Miguel "Mike" Bezos in April 1968. [117][118] He also invested in Unity Biotechnology, a life-extension research firm hoping to slow or stop the process of aging. [291] Bezos announced in September 2018 that he would commit approximately $2billion to a fund to deal with American homelessness and establish a network of non-profit preschools for low income communities. [137][138][139], Bezos was seen by some as needlessly quantitative and data-driven. What benefit would Bezos bring the league? The hour glass appears to be running out on Snyder's ownership of the Commanders. [287], In May 2017, Bezos gave $1million to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, which provides pro bono legal services for American journalists. Jeffrey Preston Bezos (/bezos/ BAY-zohss;[2] n Jorgensen; born January 12, 1964) is an American entrepreneur, media proprietor, investor, and commercial astronaut. 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. [245], In 1992, Bezos was working for D. E. Shaw in Manhattan when he met novelist MacKenzie Tuttle, who was a research associate at the firm; the couple married a year later. [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. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. [132] During the 1990s, Bezos earned a reputation for relentlessly pushing Amazon forward, often at the expense of public charity and social welfare. Overtime is a media company that distributes original sports content on social media outlets, including Snapchat, YouTube and Facebook. [292] As part of this announcement, he committed to establishing the "Day 1 Families Fund" to finance "night shelters and day care centers for homeless families" and the "Day 1 Academies Fund" for early childhood education. "I don't want to drag anybody around," he said . [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. ", "Are you lazy or just incompetent? [286] That same month, Janet Camarena, director of transparency initiatives at Foundation Center, was quoted by CNBC as having questions about Bezos's new Day 1 Fund, including the fund's structure and how exactly it will be funded. Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and dissident was employed as a writer at the Washington Post, owned by Bezos. [59][failed verification] In November 2007, Bezos launched the Amazon Kindle. This venture, later named Haven, is expected to be a partnership between Amazon, JPMorgan, and Berkshire Hathaway. Cry? On July 20, 2021, he flew to space alongside his half-brother,[1] Mark. [36] His 1982 high school valedictorian senior graduation speech was followed up with a Miami Herald interview in which he expressed an interest to build and develop hotels, amusement parks, and colonies for human beings who were in orbit. [135] His business practices projected a public image of prudence and parsimony with his own wealth and that of Amazon. [260] Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Bezos have supported the legalization of same-sex marriage, and in 2012 contributed $2.5million to Washington United for Marriage, a group supporting a yes vote on Washington Referendum 74, which affirmed a same-sex marriage law enacted in the state. Won't Award Them", "FAA Commercial Human Spaceflight Recognition", "Bloomberg Billionaire Index Jeff Bezos", "Meet Altos Labs, Silicon Valley's latest wild bet on living forever", "This Is The Richest Person in the World", "Jeff Bezos Becomes The First Person Ever Worth $200 Billion", "Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos grows fortune by $24bn amid coronavirus pandemic", "Jeff Bezos to Step Down as Amazon C.E.O. [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. [129][130], In September 2021, Bezos co-founded Altos Labs with Mail.ru founder Yuri Milner. The first centibillionaire on the Forbes wealth index,[8] Bezos was named the "richest man in modern history" after his net worth increased to $150billion in July 2018. Jeff Bezos is currently the world's second-richest man, so purchasing an NFL (National Football League) franchise wouldn't be too tall a task for the billionaire. 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. No. The company also and sells apparel with its logos and branding. Overtime said it will use a portion of the $80 million to help pay for salaries of players and staff, support league start-up costs, invest in the NFT sector and enhance its app. Scream? [212] During March 9, Bezos earned $230,000 every 60 seconds. [186] His net worth decreased to $6.1billion a year later, a 40.5% drop. He was succeeded as CEO by Andy Jassy. 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. [62][263] Trump has repeatedly attacked Bezos via Twitter, accused Bezos of avoiding corporate taxes, gaining undue political influence, and undermining his presidency by spreading "fake news". [57] In 2002, Bezos led Amazon to launch Amazon Web Services, which compiled data from weather channels and website traffic. Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) October 1, 2021 Since New Worlds launch on Tuesday , it has managed to reach a concurrent player count of over 800,000 players, ", "Amazon is celebrating its 25th birthday. [40] 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). [162] When interviewing candidates for jobs at Amazon, he has stated he considers three inquiries: can he admire the person, can the person raise the common standard, and under what circumstances could the person become exemplary. [92][248] Bezos and MacKenzie have not disclosed their religious status. [64] On August 4, 2016, Bezos sold another million of his shares for $756.7million. [264][265][266][267], In 2014, Amazon won a bid for a cloud computing contract with the CIA valued at $600million. [268] A 2018, $10billion contract known as the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) project, this time with the Pentagon, was allegedly written up in a way that favors Amazon. [297], In February 2020, Bezos pledged $10 billion to combat climate change through the Bezos Earth Fund. The letter demanded "Fair wages; fair benefits for retirement, family leave and health care; and a fair amount of job security. Bezos affinity for the Seahawks goes back to 2019 when he attempted to woo the owners into selling the franchise to him.