Jeff Bezos is the founder of Amazon, one of the largest and most influential companies in the world. His vision for e-commerce and his relentless focus on customer centricity and growth have transformed retail, cloud computing, and many other sectors, making him one of the richest people in the world.
1. Founding Amazon in a Garage (1994)
After a successful career on Wall Street, Jeff Bezos decided in 1994 to quit his well-paying job and move to Seattle to start an online bookstore. He launched Amazon.com from the garage of his rented house.
He chose books because it was a product category with millions of titles, far more than any physical store could offer. However, his vision was much larger: Amazon was to become an ‘everything store’.
2. Name ‘Amazon’: Largest River, Largest Selection
Bezos chose the name ‘Amazon’ because it started with the letter ‘A’ (high in alphabetical lists) and referred to the Amazon River, the largest river in the world. This reflected his ambition to offer the world’s largest selection.
An earlier name he considered was ‘Cadabra’ (as in ‘abracadabra’), but this was dismissed because it sounded too much like ‘cadaver’.
3. Customer Obsession as a Core Value
One of the core principles of Bezos and Amazon is an obsessive focus on the customer. Decisions are often made from the perspective of long-term customer value, even if it comes at the expense of short-term profit.
This led to innovations such as customer reviews, ‘one-click shopping’, personalized recommendations, and the Prime membership with fast, free shipping. Bezos often left an empty chair at meetings to symbolize the ‘customer’.
4. Diversification: More Than Just Books
Amazon quickly expanded its offerings from books to music, videos, electronics, and many other product categories. Bezos’s strategy was to invest in growth and market share, often with low margins.
Later, even larger diversifications followed, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), the Kindle e-reader, the Echo smart speaker (with Alexa), streaming services (Prime Video, Music), and the acquisition of Whole Foods Market.
5. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the Money Maker
One of the most successful and profitable parts of Amazon is AWS, its cloud computing division. Originally developed to manage Amazon’s own complex IT infrastructure, AWS now offers cloud services (such as computing power, storage, databases) to millions of businesses worldwide.
AWS has grown into the dominant player in the cloud market and generates a large portion of Amazon’s operating profit, enabling investments in other, less profitable segments.
6. The Kindle Revolution
With the introduction of the Kindle e-reader in 2007, Amazon disrupted the traditional book market once again. The Kindle made it possible to buy and read digital books instantly on a device with an e-ink screen that reads like paper.
This accelerated the transition to digital reading and strengthened Amazon’s position as the dominant player in book sales.
7. Blue Origin, Bezos’s Space Ambitions
In addition to Amazon, Bezos founded his own aerospace company in 2000: Blue Origin. The goal of Blue Origin is to make space travel cheaper and more accessible, with a long-term vision of enabling ‘millions of people to live and work in space’.
The company develops reusable rockets (like the New Shepard for suborbital spaceflights and the New Glenn for orbital launches) and has already conducted successful manned tourist spaceflights, including one with Bezos himself aboard in 2021.
9. Owner of The Washington Post
In 2013, Jeff Bezos personally purchased the influential American newspaper The Washington Post. This acquisition came as a surprise to the media world.
Under his ownership, the newspaper has invested in digital transformation and investigative journalism and has experienced a period of growth. Bezos emphasizes that he does not interfere with editorial content.
10. One of the Richest People in the World
Thanks to the enormous success of Amazon and the rise of its stock price, Jeff Bezos became the richest person in the world in 2017, a position he has since alternated with other billionaires like Elon Musk and Bernard Arnault.
His fortune is estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars, largely consisting of his Amazon stock holdings.
11. Admired and Criticized
Bezos is admired for his vision, entrepreneurship, and the way he has transformed industries. On the other hand, Amazon receives significant criticism for its dominant market position, treatment of warehouse workers, tax avoidance, and impact on small businesses.
Bezos himself is known as a demanding, data-driven leader with an intense focus on efficiency.
12. Stepping Down as CEO (2021)
In July 2021, Jeff Bezos stepped down as CEO of Amazon after 27 years at the helm. He was succeeded by Andy Jassy, the former CEO of AWS.
Bezos remained Executive Chairman of the Board, allowing him to stay involved in key strategic decisions but focus more on other projects like Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and his philanthropic activities (such as the Bezos Earth Fund).
13. His Marriage to MacKenzie Scott Ended After 25 Years
Jeff Bezos was married to MacKenzie Scott for 25 years, with whom he has four children. After their divorce in 2019, she received 25% of their joint Amazon shares, making her one of the richest women in the world.
Since then, she has become known for her large-scale philanthropy: she has already given away tens of billions of dollars to charities through direct donations, often with little media attention or conditions attached.
14. He Has a New Love, Lauren Sánchez
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After his divorce, Bezos began a relationship with American TV presenter and helicopter pilot Lauren Sánchez. The two have appeared publicly frequently and are now engaged. They share a passion for space travel and philanthropy – Sánchez also plays a role within Blue Origin. Their relationship has received significant media attention, partly due to their joint appearances at galas and events.
Jeff Bezos’s journey from an online bookstore in a garage to the head of one of the world’s most valuable companies is a modern entrepreneurial tale. His innovative spirit, customer obsession, and long-term vision have fundamentally changed the way we shop, read, and use technology. Though not without controversy, his impact on the global economy and society is undeniable.
