Jeffrey Preston Bezos: Path-breaking E-commerce pioneer

Born on January 12, 1964, in New Mexico, USA, to Jacklyn Gise Jorgensen and Ted Jorgensen, the boy was named Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen. However, his parents separated soon after and his mother married Mike Bezos, a Cuban immigrant, which is how Jeff got the present surname. As a child, Jeff was keen to learn how things worked. So he converted his family garage into a laboratory, where he spent time playing with electrical and mechanical equipment.

His summer vacations were spent on his grandfather’s cattle farm where he took part in cleaning, plumbing and repairing windmills. When he was still at high school, Bezos launched his first business Dream Institute -- a 10-day summer camp for children. He signed up six students, each of whom was charged $600.

Computer Wiz

Bezos developed a love for computers and graduated from Princeton University in 1986 with degrees in electrical engineering and computer science. He worked at Wall Street and in 1990 he became a senior vice-president at the investment firm DE Shaw. It was in that firm that Bezos met MacKenzie Tuttle whom he married in 1993.

Though his job in financial services was a lucrative one, he quit it after four years to start an online bookstore. He set up the office in his garage and with colleagues developed software for the new firm. As the operations expanded they shifted the operations to a two-bedroom house.

They named the company Amazon after the river.Soon Amazon sold books across the United States and in 45 countries. In two months, the sales reached $20,000 a week.

Success Story

Amazon began selling CDs, videos, clothes, electronics and toys and struck retail partnerships. While many dot.coms went bust during the early ‘90s, Amazon continued to flourish. Soon, it became the world’s largest online sales company and one of the biggest success stories of the internet.

In 2007, the company launched Kindle, a digital book reader. Bezos also founded the aerospace company Blue Origin in 2000. In May 2013, he met Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Galactic, to discuss the possibility of a commercial spaceflight. A Blue Origin test flight entered space in 2015.The firm plans to begin commercial human spaceflights.

In 2011, Amazon forayed into the tablet marketplace with Kindle Fire. The next product was Kindle Fire HD, which was intended to compete with Apple’s iPad and Bezos told reporters, “We haven’t built the best tablet at a certain price. We have built the best tablet at any price.”

Buying Iconic Newspaper

He purchased The Washington Post in 2013 for $250 million. After the deal, he told Post employees: “The values of The Post do not need changing...There will, of course, be change at The Post over the coming years. That’s essential and would have happened with or without new ownership.

The Internet is transforming almost every element of the news business. There is no map and charting a path ahead will not be easy. We will need to invent, which means we will need to experiment. Our touchstone will be readers.” Bezos’ successful ventures have made him the world’s richest man.

Interesting Facts

1.A space travel enthusiast and a fan of the Star Trek series, Bezos played a cameo in the movie ‘Star Trek Beyond’. It was a one-scene sequence, with no dialogues for Bezos, as he played one of the ‘Starfleet Official’.

2.As a child, Bezos had a craze for all things science. He had built an electric alarm to keep his half-siblings Christina Bezos and Mark Bezos out of his room. For Jeff, this alarm also acted as a security system.

3.Bezos loves reading books. In his biography ‘The Everything Store’ author Brad Stone describes how books shaped his way of thinking. Jeff also encourages employees to read in their leisure time.

4.He had initially planned to call his company Cadabra (from Abracadabra). But when he shared this with his lawyer, he misheard it as Cadaver (dead body). This displeased Bezos and he renamed it Amazon.

5. Bezos’ worth almost equals the entire GDP of Angola. Forbes magazine estimates his current net worth at a $111.2 billion - which greater than the GDP of Iceland, Afghanistan and Costa Rica combined.

Sources: Wikipedia, biography.com