Resilience and perseverance in the journey of Jeff Bezos. A timeline of obstacles and growth.
Jeff Bezos is an American businessman renowned as the founder and former CEO of Amazon, a global leader in e-commerce and cloud computing. Currently serving as executive chairman, Bezos has amassed significant wealth, making him one of the wealthiest individuals globally. He notably held the title of the world's wealthiest person between 2017 and 2021. His entrepreneurial success with Amazon has significantly impacted the technology and retail sectors.
June 1965: Parents' Divorce
In June 1965, when Jeff Bezos was 17 months old, his mother, Jacklyn, filed for divorce from his biological father, Ted Jorgensen.
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1999: Acquisition of pets.com
In 1999, Jeff Bezos purchased a majority stake in pets.com and a portion of kozmo.com for $60 million, both of which would fail after the dot-com bubble collapse in 2000.
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2000: Financial Challenges
By the end of 2000, Jeff Bezos borrowed $2 billion from banks, as Amazon's cash balances dipped to only $350 million.
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March 2003: Helicopter crash in West Texas
In March 2003, Jeff Bezos was a passenger in a helicopter that crashed in West Texas while surveying land to buy for Blue Origin; he sustained only minor injuries.
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September 2011: Prototype Vehicle Crash
In September 2011, Blue Origin experienced a setback when one of its uncrewed prototype vehicles crashed during a short-hop test flight. Despite the crash, the company's progress in spaceflight was acknowledged.
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May 2014: Named "World's Worst Boss"
In May 2014, the International Trade Union Confederation named Jeff Bezos the "World's Worst Boss", citing his promotion of the North American corporate model.
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2015: Memo Denouncing New York Times Piece
In 2015, Jeff Bezos sent a memo to employees denouncing a New York Times piece, exemplifying his tendency to publicly contest claims made in critical articles.
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May 1, 2018: Alleged phone hack initiation
On May 1, 2018, forensic analysis 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.
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September 2018: Stop BEZOS Act Introduced
In September 2018, Senator Bernie Sanders introduced the Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies (Stop BEZOS) Act and accused Amazon of receiving corporate welfare.
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2018: JEDI contract controversy
In 2018, a $10 billion contract known as the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) project with the Pentagon, was allegedly written in a way that favored Amazon, leading to controversy.
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2018: Criticism from Washington Post employees
In 2018, more than 400 Washington Post employees wrote an open letter to Jeff Bezos criticizing his poor wages and benefits for his employees.
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February 7, 2019: Accusation of extortion and blackmail
On February 7, 2019, Jeff Bezos accused American Media, Inc. owner David Pecker of "extortion and blackmail" for threatening to publish intimate photos.
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March 2019: Accusation of Saudi government hacking
In March 2019, Jeff Bezos's security consultant accused the Saudi government of hacking Bezos's phone.
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November 2019: Amazon lawsuit over JEDI contract
In November 2019, after the JEDI contract was awarded to Microsoft, Amazon filed a lawsuit alleging bias in the bidding process.
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2019: Harvard Business Review's CEO Ranking
In 2019, Harvard Business Review, which had previously ranked Jeff Bezos as the best-performing CEO for 4 years in a row since 2014, did not rank him even in the top 100, citing Amazon's relatively low ESG scores.
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2019: Divorce from MacKenzie Bezos
In 2019, Jeff Bezos's wealth was reduced by his divorce from MacKenzie Bezos, who received 25% of Bezos's Amazon shares, valued at approximately $36 billion.
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2019: Political action committee spending
In 2019, a political action committee linked to Jeff Bezos spent over $1 million in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat the reelection bid of Seattle city council member Kshama Sawant.
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January 2020: Report on hack initiation timeline
In January 2020, The Guardian reported that the hack of Jeff Bezos's phone was initiated before the murder but after Jamal Khashoggi wrote critically about the crown prince in the Washington Post.
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July 6, 2021: Pentagon cancels JEDI contract with Microsoft
On July 6, 2021, the Pentagon cancelled the JEDI contract with Microsoft, citing that "due to evolving requirements, increased cloud conversancy, and industry advances, the JEDI Cloud contract no longer meets its needs."
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December 2023: Washington Post employees strike
In December 2023, around 750 employees at The Washington Post went on a brief strike in response to Jeff Bezos' plans to lay off staff.
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2024: Blocking Kamala Harris endorsement
In 2024, Jeff Bezos blocked the Washington Post's editorial board from endorsing Kamala Harris in the presidential election, leading to criticism and resignation.
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