Jeff Bezos is an American businessperson, generous donor, and someone who loves space. His net worth is an amazing $226 billion. He earned his fortune by starting Amazon.com.
He has worked in different positions at Amazon, such as former CEO and current president, and chairman of the board. In July 2017, he became richer than Bill Gates for the first time.
From October 2017 to January 2021, he was the richest person in the world without interruption. In March 2024, he became the wealthiest person again, passing Elon Musk in net worth.
Jeff owns 55 million shares of Amazon, which is roughly 12% of all available shares, as per the most recent SEC filing. At one time, he had 80 million shares.
When he and MacKenzie Bezos settled their divorce in April 2019, he gave her 19.7 million shares, worth $36 billion at that time. Because of this, his net worth fell from $150 billion to $114 billion for some time. Jeff also invested in Google early on and owns at least $1 billion worth of shares in Alphabet Inc.
For much of the 2000s, Jeff was not among the top 10 or 20 richest people globally. However, beginning in late 2014, Amazon’s stock began rising quickly. By July 2015, his net worth reached $50 billion, and in under two years, it had doubled.
On July 27, 2017, he passed Bill Gates to become the wealthiest person in the world. By September 2018, Amazon’s market value hit $1 trillion, and at that time, he still owned 80 million shares, taking his net worth to a new high of $170 billion.
Interesting Facts
- He quit his finance job in 1994 to create an online bookstore.
- During a cross-country drive, he wrote the business plan for Amazon.
- When Amazon became a public company in 1998, its net worth jumped above $12 billion. But after the dotcom crash, it fell to $2 billion.
- By 2015, his net worth went over $50 billion for the first time.
- In 2018, it surpassed $100 billion. –
- He put money into Google before its IPO, and that investment is now worth around $1 billion.
- When he and MacKenzie said they were divorcing, his net worth was $136 billion.
- MacKenzie received 20 million Amazon shares and became the world’s richest woman.
- If they had not split, Jeff’s net worth might have gone beyond $250 billion.
- He owns The Washington Post and has $300 million in real estate in Beverly Hills, plus $60 million in Washington.
- So far, he has sold at least $70 billion in Amazon stock and spends $1 billion yearly on his space company, Blue Origin.
- By July 2021, his net worth climbed to $211 billion.
Was Jeff Bezos Ever the Richest Person of All Time?
If you compare Jeff’s highest net worth of $200 billion to our list of the wealthiest people in history, adjusted for inflation, he doesn’t make the top 10.
That $200 billion would rank him as the 11th largest fortune ever held by one person (after inflation adjustments). For example, when oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller died, his wealth was equal to about $340 billion today.
Could Jeff Bezos Become a Trillionaire?
It’s possible, but reaching trillionaire status would be very difficult if he relies only on his Amazon stock. With 12% ownership in Amazon, his net worth increases by roughly $120 billion for every $1 trillion in market value. So, to become a trillionaire just from his Amazon shares, the company would need a market value of more than $8.3 trillion.
Early Life
Jeff Bezos was born on January 12, 1964, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His mother was only 17 years old when he was born, and his father owned a bicycle shop. After some time, his parents divorced, and when Jeff was four, his mother married a Cuban immigrant named Miguel Bezos. Miguel adopted Jeff, and that’s how Jeff’s last name changed from Jorgenson to Bezos.
The family later moved to Houston because Miguel got a job as an engineer at Exxon. This also brought them closer to Jeff’s grandparents, who had a cattle ranch near San Antonio.
An interesting fact is that Jeff’s grandmother, Mattie Louise Gise, was a first cousin of the famous country singer George Strait.
When Jeff was young and living in Texas, he used his parents’ garage as a lab for his science projects. He spent summers helping out on his grandparents’ ranch, and he later said this experience helped him develop a strong work ethic. Years later, he bought that ranch and expanded it from 25,000 acres to 300,000 acres.
The family moved again, this time to Miami, just as Jeff was beginning high school. While in high school, he worked at McDonald’s as a short-order cook.
He was a top student, graduating as valedictorian and earning recognition as a National Merit Scholar. In his graduation speech, he talked about his dream of humans one day living in space.
Jeff then went to Princeton University. At first, he planned to study physics, but he became more interested in computers and switched his focus. He graduated with highest honors, achieving a 4.2 GPA, and was accepted into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science and electrical engineering.
After college, Jeff started working at a financial technology company called Fitel. Later, he moved into banking, taking a product management job at Bankers Trust. In 1990, he became a financial analyst at D. E. Shaw & Co., a new hedge fund that used advanced math to try to make big profits in the stock market.
Jeff stayed at D.E. Shaw until 1994. By that time, he had worked his way up to become the company’s fourth senior vice president. He was only 30 years old when he reached that position.
Amazon
About a year earlier, Jeff became fascinated with the internet when it was still new. He considered selling products online and chose books as his first product. During a road trip from New York to Seattle, he wrote Amazon’s business plan. He officially launched the company in 1994, running it from his garage at first.
Other Accomplishments
In 2008, Carnegie Mellon University gave Bezos an honorary doctorate in Science and Technology. Before that, in 1999, Time magazine named him Person of the Year.
The next year, in 2000, he started Blue Origin, a company dedicated to space travel, inspired by his passion for space. Blue Origin’s goals include building space hotels, amusement parks, and even floating cities where millions could live around Earth.
For several years, the company stayed quiet about its work. People first learned more about it in 2006 when Blue Origin bought a big property in west Texas to use as a launch and testing site.
In 2013, Bezos had a conversation with Richard Branson, the billionaire founder of Virgin Group, about commercial space travel. That same year, he also bought The Washington Post.
Real Estate And Other Purchases
Jeff lived in Seattle, Washington for nearly thirty years. In November 2023, he announced he was moving to Miami permanently.
Two months before that, he spent $150 million on two neighboring homes on a private island called Indian Creek Village, sometimes nicknamed the “Billionaire Bunker.” Reports say he wants to knock down both houses to construct one massive new home.
By April 2024, news broke that Jeff bought a third mansion on Indian Creek for $90 million. This six-bedroom house will serve as his temporary residence while he demolishes the other two properties to build his dream estate.
In 2007, Jeff and MacKenzie purchased a large home on two acres in Beverly Hills for $24.5 million. Then in 2018, they bought the house next door for $12.9 million. After their divorce in 2019, MacKenzie kept the combined property.
In August 2022, she revealed she had given both homes to the California Community Foundation. At the time of the donation, the properties were worth about $55 million together.
On February 12, 2020, reports surfaced that Jeff had spent $255 million on two Beverly Hills properties. The first was the Jack L. Warner estate, which cost $165 million.
This luxurious property covers 10 scenic acres in central Beverly Hills and includes a 13,600-square-foot main house. The previous owner was entertainment mogul David Geffen, who bought it in 1990 for only $47.5 million.
The second property Jeff supposedly bought in February 2020 was a 120-acre empty hilltop called Enchanted Hill. This land belonged to the estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who purchased it in 1997 for $20 million.
While mostly overgrown with weeds, the property has a 1.5-mile-long driveway and a well-maintained bluff at the top. However, just one month after the news came out, the deal was canceled. In the end, Jeff’s only major real estate purchase in February 2020 was the $165 million Jack L. Warner estate.
Other Real Estate Holdings
Jeff owns a $23 million mansion in Washington D.C. that he purchased in 2018. The property was previously used as a museum and consists of two buildings with a combined 27,000 square feet of living space.
He also owns 300,000 acres in Texas made up of multiple ranches, plus an additional 100,000 acres spread throughout other parts of the country.
In Manhattan, he has three apartments at 25 Central Park West.
Other properties include a $10 million, 5-acre home in Medina, Washington, bought in 1999, and a $50 million mansion right next door in Medina that he acquired in 2005.
Net Worth Details And History
Since Amazon became a public company twenty years ago, Jeff has sold at least $70 billion worth of his shares. He usually sells about $1 billion in stock each year as part of a scheduled selling plan.
When Amazon first went public, the company was valued at just $300 million. Jeff owned 40% of Amazon at the time, making his net worth approximately $120 million (before taxes). Within one year, his net worth jumped to over $1 billion.
At the peak of the dotcom boom, his wealth reached more than $10 billion. But after the dotcom crash, Amazon’s stock fell to just $5 per share in October 2001, and Jeff’s net worth dropped to between $1 and $2 billion.
If someone had invested $10,000 in Amazon stock back in October 2001, that investment would be worth more than $15 million today, without even including any dividend payments.
Net Worth Milestones
When Amazon first went public in May 1997, the company was valued at $120 million on its first day of trading. By June 1998, its value reached $1 billion for the first time. One year later, in June 1999, it jumped to $10 billion.
In July 2015, Jeff’s net worth climbed to $50 billion. By January 2018, it doubled to $100 billion, and just six months later, in July 2018, it rose to $150 billion. Two months after that, in September 2018, it reached $170 billion.
In January 2019, Jeff announced he and MacKenzie were ending their 25-year marriage, which would significantly change his $150 billion fortune. On April 4, 2019, they revealed they had reached a peaceful divorce agreement. MacKenzie received $36 billion worth of Amazon stock.
Jeff kept 75% of his shares and retained voting rights over MacKenzie’s shares. She did not get any ownership of The Washington Post or Jeff’s space company, Blue Origin. How they split their houses and private jets was not disclosed. After the announcement, Jeff’s net worth fell to $114 billion.
By March 9, 2020, his net worth was $111 billion. It then rose to $172 billion by July 1, 2020. Just eight days later, on July 9, it increased to $190 billion, and by August 26, 2020, it reached $202 billion.
However, by December 2022, it had decreased to $117 billion, and in January 2023, it dropped further to $107 billion.
Jeff became a billionaire only three years after starting Amazon in 1995. It took him 20 years to reach $50 billion, but then he gained another $50 billion in just two and a half years, bringing his total to $100 billion.
After that, in only seven months, he added another $50 billion, reaching $150 billion. But with one major decision—his divorce—he lost $36 billion instantly.
Jeff Bezos shows what it means to be a brilliant entrepreneur and forward-thinking leader. He began Amazon in his garage and grew it into one of the most important companies in the world.
His story proves how powerful new ideas and determination can be. Beyond online shopping, Bezos has explored space through Blue Origin, entered media with The Washington Post, and made major charitable efforts.
His smart choices have changed how people shop online, use cloud technology, and move goods around the world. Even when facing challenges, his skill at adjusting and keeping sight of big-picture goals highlights his extraordinary achievements.
Bezos motivates others by proving that bold visions, combined with hard work, can transform businesses and help society advance in exciting new ways.
