Journey of Jeff Bezos: How Amazon's 'garage inventor' became interested in space
The founder of Amazon.com Inc and business mogul Jeff Bezos is expected to launch into space aboard his company Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket on Tuesday.
WION takes you through his life - from the creation of a garage startup to taking over space
Humble beginnings
On January 12, 1964 Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico to Jacklyn Gise and Ted Jorgensen and was later adopted by Miguel Bezos. In 1986, Bezos graduated from Princeton University after studying electrical engineering and computer science.
(Photograph:Reuters)
Beginning of a career
In 1990, Bezos joined investment bank DE Shaw & Co, soon named the firm's youngest senior vice president. In 1993, Bezos married MacKenzie Tuttle, whom he met at DE Shaw.
(Photograph:Reuters)
'Garage inventor'
In 1994, Bezos, who called himself a "garage inventor" from a young age, quit DE Shaw, moved to Seattle to open a virtual bookstore out of a garage In 1995,Amazon.com sold its first book and began to rapidly expand and diversify.
(Photograph:Reuters)
Blue Origin!
In 2000, Bezos set up his rocket startup Blue Origin. In 2012, Blue Origin began flight testing New Shepard.
(Photograph:Reuters)
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The end of an era
In 2021, Bezos stepped down as CEO of Amazon on July 5, but remains executive chairman of ecommerce giant, with a net worth of over $206 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.