Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos built Amazon from a garage into a global empire, then bet his fortune on rockets, and in 2026, that bet is finally paying off.
Jeff Bezos was born on January 12, 1964, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He studied computer science and electrical engineering at Princeton, then left a lucrative Wall Street career in 1994 to found Amazon out of his garage in Seattle. What started as an online bookstore became one of the most valuable companies in history, spanning e-commerce, cloud computing (AWS), streaming, and logistics.
In July 2021, Bezos stepped down as Amazon’s CEO, handing the role to Andy Jassy. He retained the title of Executive Chairman, keeping a strategic hand on the wheel without running day-to-day operations. He remains the founder and a major shareholder, meaning Amazon’s performance still moves his personal fortune dramatically.
Beyond Amazon, Bezos owns Blue Origin, his private aerospace company, which is pushing hard in 2025–2026 with its heavy-lift rocket New Glenn, competing directly with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. He has reportedly floated the idea of a potential Blue Origin IPO as of May 2026. He also owns The Washington Post, one of America’s most prominent newspapers.
Bezos consistently ranks among the wealthiest individuals on the planet, according to Forbes and Bloomberg estimates, though those figures fluctuate with Amazon’s stock price and are not independently audited. He is searched relentlessly, for his wealth, his private life, his rocket ambitions, and his high-profile relationship with Lauren Sánchez.