Who is Jeff Bezos?
Jeff Bezos, the founder and former CEO of Amazon.com, has a fascinating early life story. Born on January 12, 1964, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to a teenage mother, Jacklyn Gise Jorgensen, and his biological father, Ted Jorgensen, Bezos was raised by his mother and his Cuban immigrant stepfather, Mike Bezos, from a young age.
From an early age, Bezos showed a keen interest in how things worked. He reportedly dismantled his crib as a toddler with a screwdriver because he wanted to see how it was put together. This early curiosity and tinkering spirit were indicative of the entrepreneurial mindset that would come to define much of his life.
Growing up, Bezos spent his formative years on his grandfather’s ranch in Texas, where he learned the value of hard work and resourcefulness. His family later moved to Miami, where he attended high school. Even as a teenager, Bezos displayed a remarkable intellect and a penchant for innovation. He was the valedictorian of his high school class and went on to attend Princeton University, where he studied computer science and electrical engineering.
After graduating from Princeton in 1986, Bezos embarked on a diverse career path that included stints at several prominent technology firms, including Fitel, Bankers Trust, and D. E. Shaw & Co., a quantitative hedge fund. It was during his time at D. E. Shaw that Bezos stumbled upon the idea that would ultimately change the face of e-commerce forever.
In 1994, Bezos read that internet usage was growing at a staggering rate of 2,300% per year. Sensing the potential of this emerging technology, he decided to leave his lucrative job on Wall Street and start an online bookstore out of his garage in Seattle. Thus, Amazon.com was born.
Bezos’s relentless drive, innovative spirit, and willingness to take risks have been instrumental in Amazon’s meteoric rise from a humble online bookstore to the global e-commerce behemoth it is today. His remarkable journey from a curious child with a passion for tinkering to one of the wealthiest and most influential individuals in the world serves as an inspiration to aspiring entrepreneurs everywhere.