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  • Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
    Sunday Jan 12, 1964

    Birth

    Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
    Sunday Jan 12, 1964

    Bezos was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on January 12, 1964, the son of Jacklyn Gise Jorgensen and Ted Jorgensen.




  • U.S.
    Monday Apr 22, 1968

    Divorce of his Parents

    U.S.
    Monday Apr 22, 1968

    After Jacklyn divorced Ted, she married Cuban immigrant Miguel "Mike" Bezos in April 1968.




  • Houston, Texas, U.S.
    1968

    Raising

    Houston, Texas, U.S.
    1968

    The family moved to Houston, Texas, where Mike worked as an engineer for Exxon after he received a degree from the University of New Mexico.




  • U.S.
    1968

    Adoption

    U.S.
    1968

    Shortly after the wedding of his mother, Mike adopted four-year-old Jorgensen, whose surname was then changed to Bezos.




  • Miami, Florida, U.S.
    1980s

    Moving to Miami, Florida

    Miami, Florida, U.S.
    1980s

    The family moved to Miami, Florida, where Bezos attended Miami Palmetto High School. While Bezos was in high school, he worked at McDonald's as a short-order line cook during the breakfast shift.




  • U.S.
    1986

    Early Career

    U.S.
    1986

    Bezos was offered jobs at Intel, Bell Labs, and Andersen Consulting, among others.




  • Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.
    1986

    Graduation

    Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.
    1986

    In 1986, Bezos graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University with a 4.2 grade point average and Bachelor of Science degrees in electrical engineering and computer science and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa.


  • U.S
    1986

    First Job

    U.S
    1986

    Bezos first worked at Fitel, a fintech telecommunications start-up, where he was tasked with building a network for international trade. He was promoted to head of development and director of customer service.


  • New York City, New York, U.S.
    1980s

    Banking Industry

    New York City, New York, U.S.
    1980s

    Bezos transitioned into the banking industry when he became a product manager at Bankers Trust, he worked there from 1988 to 1990.


  • New York City, New York, U.S.
    1990s

    D. E. Shaw & Co

    New York City, New York, U.S.
    1990s

    Bezos joined D. E. Shaw & Co, a newly founded hedge fund with a strong emphasis on mathematical modelling, in 1990 and worked there until 1994. he became D. E. Shaw's fourth senior vice-president at the age of 30.


  • Seattle, Washington, U.S.
    1993

    Marriage

    Seattle, Washington, U.S.
    1993

    Bezos was working for D. E. Shaw in Manhattan when he met novelist MacKenzie Tuttle. the couple married in 1993. He and his ex-wife MacKenzie are the parents of four children: three sons, and one daughter adopted from China.


  • Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
    1994

    Expanding of Amazon

    Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
    1994

    Amazon was originally an online bookstore, Bezos had always planned to expand to other products.


  • Northeast 28th Street in Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
    Tuesday Jul 5, 1994

    Amazon

    Northeast 28th Street in Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
    Tuesday Jul 5, 1994

    Bezos decided to establish an online bookstore. He left his job at D. E. Shaw and founded Amazon in his garage on July 5, 1994, after writing its business plan on a cross-country drive from New York to Seattle.


  • U.S.
    1997

    A Millionaire

    U.S.
    1997

    Bezos first became a millionaire in 1997 after raising $54 million through Amazon's initial public offering (IPO).


  • Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
    1997

    Initial Public Offering (IPO)

    Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
    1997

    Three years after Bezos founded Amazon, he took it public with an initial public offering (IPO).


  • Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
    1997

    Critical Reports

    Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
    1997

    In response to critical reports from Fortune and Barron's, Bezos maintained that the growth of the Internet would overtake competition from larger book retailers such as Borders and Barnes & Noble.


  • Kent, Washington, U.S.
    Sep, 2000

    Blue Origin

    Kent, Washington, U.S.
    Sep, 2000

    In September 2000, Bezos founded Blue Origin, a human spaceflight startup company. Bezos has long expressed an interest in space travel and the development of human life in the solar system.


  • Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
    2002

    Amazon Web Services

    Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
    2002

    In 2002, Bezos led Amazon to launch Amazon Web Services, which compiled data from weather channels and website traffic.


  • Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
    2002

    Financial Distress

    Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
    2002

    In late 2002, rapid spending from Amazon caused it financial distress when revenues stagnated. After the company nearly went bankrupt. Bezos closed distribution centers and laid off 14% of the Amazon workforce.


  • Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
    2003

    Rebounding from Financial Instability

    Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
    2003

    In 2003, Amazon rebounded from financial instability and turned a profit of $400 million.


  • Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
    Nov, 2007

    Amazon Kindle

    Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
    Nov, 2007

    In November 2007, Bezos launched the Amazon Kindle.


  • Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
    2013

    Contract with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

    Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
    2013

    In 2013, Bezos secured a $600 million contract with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on behalf of Amazon Web Services.


  • Washington, D.C., U.S.
    Monday Aug 5, 2013

    The Washington Post

    Washington, D.C., U.S.
    Monday Aug 5, 2013

    On August 5, 2013, Bezos announced his purchase of The Washington Post for $250 million in cash. To execute the sale, he established Nash Holdings, a limited liability holding company that legally owns the paper.


  • Washington, D.C., U.S.
    Oct, 2013

    The Washington Post

    Washington, D.C., U.S.
    Oct, 2013

    Bezos purchased The Washington Post, The sale closed on October 1, 2013, and Nash Holdings took control.


  • Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
    Oct, 2013

    The Largest Online Shopping Retailer in the World

    Bellevue, Washington, U.S.
    Oct, 2013

    In October 2013, Amazon was recognized as the largest online shopping retailer in the world.


  • U.S.
    Saturday Jul 1, 2017

    Wealth

    U.S.
    Saturday Jul 1, 2017

    In July 2017 Bezos briefly unseated Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates as the wealthiest person in the world.


  • U.S.
    Sep, 2018

    Philanthropy

    U.S.
    Sep, 2018

    Bezos announced in September, 2018, that he would commit approximately $2 billion to a fund to deal with American homelessness and establish a network of non-profit preschools for low income communities.


  • U.S.
    Wednesday Jan 9, 2019

    Divorce on Twitter

    U.S.
    Wednesday Jan 9, 2019

    On January 9, 2019, Bezos and his wife MacKenzie announced on Twitter their intent to divorce after a "long period" of separation.


  • United States
    Mar, 2019

    Hacked!

    United States
    Mar, 2019

    In March 2019, Bezos's security consultant accused the Saudi government of hacking Bezos's phone. After a year of meeting in Seattle with Mohammad bin Salman, the crown prince and de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, to discuss investment opportunities for Saudi Vision 2030.


  • Seattle, Washington, U.S.
    Thursday Apr 4, 2019

    Divorce

    Seattle, Washington, U.S.
    Thursday Apr 4, 2019

    On April 4, 2019, the divorce was finalized (Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie Tuttle).


  • London, England, United Kingdom
    Jan, 2020

    The Dilemma

    London, England, United Kingdom
    Jan, 2020

    In January 2020, The Guardian reported that the hack was initiated before the murder but after Khashoggi wrote critically about the crown prince in the Washington Post. Forensic analysis of Bezos's mobile phone conducted by advisory firm FTI Consulting concluded it "highly probable" that the hack was achieved using a malicious file hidden in a video sent in a WhatsApp message to Bezos from the personal account of the crown prince on May 1, 2018. Saudi Arabia has denied the claim.


  • United States
    Feb, 2020

    Combat Climate Change

    United States
    Feb, 2020

    In February 2020, Bezos pledged $10 billion to combat climate change through the Bezos Earth Fund.


  • Chicago, Illinois, United States
    Apr, 2020

    COVID-19

    Chicago, Illinois, United States
    Apr, 2020

    In April 2020, early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Bezos donated $100 million to food banks through Feeding America.


  • United States
    2020

    Spectacular Growth

    United States
    2020

    In August 2020, according to Forbes, Bezos had a net worth exceeding $200 billion. In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bezos's wealth grew by approximately $24 billion.


  • Worldwide
    Nov, 2020

    For Nature

    Worldwide
    Nov, 2020

    In November 2020, Bezos announced $791M of donations to established, well-known groups, with $100M each going to Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Nature Conservancy, World Resources Institute, and World Wildlife Fund, and the remainder going to 11 other groups.


  • Seattle, Washington, United States
    Tuesday Feb 2, 2021

    An Email

    Seattle, Washington, United States
    Tuesday Feb 2, 2021

    On February 2, 2021, Bezos sent an email to all Amazon employees, telling them the transition would give him "the time and energy he needs to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and his other passions."


  • Seattle, Washington, United States
    Monday Jul 5, 2021

    Stepped Down

    Seattle, Washington, United States
    Monday Jul 5, 2021

    On July 5, 2021, Bezos stepped down as the CEO of Amazon and transitioned into the role of executive chairman; Andy Jassy, the chief of Amazon's cloud computing division, replaced Bezos as the CEO of Amazon.


  • Kent, Washington, United States
    Tuesday Jul 20, 2021

    To Space

    Kent, Washington, United States
    Tuesday Jul 20, 2021

    On July 20, 2021, he launched on the NS-16 mission with his brother Mark Bezos, Wally Funk, and Oliver Daemen. He launched nine days after Richard Branson launched onboard The Virgin Galactic Unity 22 mission.


  • Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Sep, 2021

    Altos Labs

    Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Sep, 2021

    In September 2021, Bezos co-founded biotechnology company Altos Labs with Mail.ru founder Yuri Milner.


  • United States
    Sep, 2021

    Richest Or Not!

    United States
    Sep, 2021

    With a net worth of almost $200.1 billion as of September 2021, he is either the wealthiest or second-wealthiest person in the world according to both Forbes and Bloomberg's Billionaires Index.


  • Beverly Hills, California, United States
    Feb, 2022

    The Warner Estate

    Beverly Hills, California, United States
    Feb, 2022

    In February 2020, Bezos purchased the Warner Estate from David Geffen for $165 million, a record price paid for a residence in the Los Angeles area.


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