Jeff Bezos's Success and Achievements in Timeline

A success timeline featuring the most significant achievements of Jeff Bezos.

Jeff Bezos is an American businessman renowned as the founder, executive chairman, and former CEO of Amazon, a global leader in e-commerce and cloud computing. He is among the wealthiest individuals globally, with an estimated net worth exceeding $220 billion as of May 2025, according to Forbes. Bezos held the title of the world's richest person from 2017 to 2021, according to Forbes and Bloomberg, solidifying his status as a prominent figure in both the business and technology sectors.

Sections (6)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements Success & Recognition Challenges & Struggles Controversies & Scandals

July 1969: Apollo 11 mission

In July 1969, the Apollo 11 mission's S-1C stage used Rocketdyne F-1 engines that were later recovered and identified as belonging to that mission.

1982: Awards and Graduation Speech

In 1982, Jeff Bezos was high school valedictorian, a National Merit Scholar, and a Silver Knight Award winner. In his graduation speech, he shared his dream of mankind colonizing space.

1994: Bezos Moves to Seattle and Founds Amazon

In 1994, Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie moved to Seattle, Washington, where Bezos founded Amazon.

1997: Equity Offering

Jeff Bezos used the $54 million raised during Amazon's 1997 equity offering to finance the aggressive acquisition of smaller competitors.

1998: Diversification into Music and Video

In 1998, Jeff Bezos diversified Amazon into the online sale of music and video, expanding the company's product offerings.

1999: Second Centibillionaire

In 1999, Bill Gates became the first centibillionaire on the Forbes Real Time Billionaires Index.

1999: Purchase of Pets.com

In 1999, Jeff Bezos purchased a majority stake in pets.com.

1999: Bezos Listed on Forbes World's Billionaires List

Jeff Bezos was first included on the Forbes World's Billionaires list in 1999 with an estimated net worth of $10.1 billion, placing him 19th in the world and 10th in the USA.

2003: Amazon Rebounds

In 2003, Amazon rebounded from financial instability and turned a profit of $35 million.

2006: Blue Origin Purchases Land for Facility

In 2006, Blue Origin purchased a large tract of land in West Texas to build a launch and test facility, maintaining a low profile until this point.

2014: Amazon Wins CIA Cloud Computing Contract

In 2014, Amazon won a bid for a cloud computing contract with the CIA valued at $600 million.

2014: Bezos' Net Worth Rises After Amazon Smartphone Rumor

In 2014, after a rumor surfaced that Amazon was developing a smartphone, Jeff Bezos' net worth increased to $30.5 billion.

2015: New Shepard reached space

In 2015, Blue Origin's New Shepard vehicle reached space and successfully landed back on Earth.

October 2016: Bezos' Wealth Increases to $66.5 Billion

In October 2016, Jeff Bezos' wealth increased by $16.2 billion, reaching $66.5 billion, unofficially ranking him as the third-richest person in the world, behind Warren Buffett.

2016: Wealth's Rapid Growth From 2016

From 2016 to 2017 Jeff Bezos's wealth grew rapidly sparking discussion about how much money Bezos earned.

2016: Bezos opens Blue Origin facility to journalists

In 2016, Jeff Bezos opened Blue Origin's facilities to select journalists for tours and photography. He also advocated for increased inter-space energy and industrial manufacturing to reduce business-related pollution.

January 2017: Bezos's Net Worth Increased

From January 2017 to January 2018, Jeff Bezos's net worth increased by $33.6 billion, surpassing the economic development of more than 96 countries around the world.

July 2017: Bezos Briefly Unseats Bill Gates as Wealthiest Person

In July 2017, Jeff Bezos briefly surpassed Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates as the wealthiest person in the world due to jumps in Amazon's share price.

July 27, 2017: Briefly World's Wealthiest Person

On July 27, 2017, Jeff Bezos momentarily became the world's wealthiest person, surpassing Bill Gates, with an estimated net worth of just over $90 billion.

October 10, 2017: Bezos Makes $6.24 Billion in 5 Minutes

On October 10, 2017, Jeff Bezos made an estimated $6.24 billion in 5 minutes, slightly less than the then annual gross domestic product of Kyrgyzstan.

October 2017: Bezos Continues to Surpass Gates as Amazon's Share Price Fluctuates

Throughout the month of October 2017, Jeff Bezos continued to sporadically surpass Bill Gates as Amazon's share price fluctuated.

November 24, 2017: Wealth Surpasses $100 Billion

On November 24, 2017, Jeff Bezos's wealth surpassed $100 billion for the first time.

December 2017: New Shepard Flies with Dummy Passengers

In December 2017, Blue Origin's New Shepard successfully flew and landed dummy passengers, pushing the expected human space travel start date to late 2018.

January 2018: Bezos's Net Worth Increased

From January 2017 to January 2018, Jeff Bezos's net worth increased by $33.6 billion, surpassing the economic development of more than 96 countries around the world.

January 19, 2018: Amazon Stock Holdings

By January 19, 2018, Jeff Bezos's Amazon stock holdings had appreciated to slightly over $109 billion.

February 1, 2018: Amazon's Highest Profit

On February 1, 2018, Amazon reported its highest ever profit with quarterly earnings of $2 billion.

March 6, 2018: Designated World's Wealthiest Person

On March 6, 2018, Jeff Bezos was formally designated the wealthiest person in the world by Forbes, with a net worth of $112 billion.

May 2018: Blue Origin's primary goal

In May 2018, Jeff Bezos stated that Blue Origin's primary goal is to preserve Earth's natural resources by making humanity multi-planetary and announced New Shepard would begin transporting humans into sub-orbital space by November 2018.

July 2018: Bezos's Net Worth Reaches $150 Billion

According to Quartz, Jeff Bezos's net worth of $150 billion in July 2018 was enough to purchase the entire stock markets of Nigeria, Hungary, Egypt, Luxembourg, and Iran.

July 2018: Richest Man in Modern History

In July 2018, Jeff Bezos was named the "richest man in modern history" after his net worth increased to $150 billion.

July 2018: Commercial Spaceflight Ticket Prices Announced

In July 2018, it was announced that Jeff Bezos had priced commercial spaceflight tickets from $200,000 to $300,000 per person.

July 17, 2018: Bezos Designated the 'Wealthiest Person in Modern History'

On July 17, 2018, Jeff Bezos was designated the "wealthiest person in modern history" by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Fortune, MarketWatch, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes.

October 2, 2018: Company-Wide Wage Increase

On October 2, 2018, Jeff Bezos announced a company-wide wage increase, raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour, which was applauded by Senator Bernie Sanders.

November 2018: New Shepard would begin transporting humans

August 2020: Net Worth Exceeds $200 Billion

In August 2020, Jeff Bezos had a net worth exceeding $200 billion, according to Forbes.

July 2021: Announcement of Courage and Civility Award

In July 2021, Jeff Bezos announced the Courage and Civility Award and donated $100 million each to lawyer Van Jones and chef José Andrés.

2023: Bezos' Forbes Ranking in 2023

According to Forbes, in 2023 Jeff Bezos was the second-wealthiest person in America and the third-wealthiest person in the world.

February 2024: Bezos' Net Worth in February 2024

According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, in February 2024 Jeff Bezos' net worth is about $197 billion, making him the second-wealthiest person in the world.