Jeff Bezos’ biological parents were teenagers when they had him
The Amazon founder was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1964. His biological parents, Jacklyn Gise and Ted Jorgensen, were only 17 and 18 years old respectively, according to Business Insider. At the time of his birth, Bezos’ mum was still a high school student and his dad performed in a circus.
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Per Grandcelebs, although her school initially tried to prevent her from graduating, the mother of the future billionaire refused to give up. The school eventually permitted her to finish her studies under specific conditions, such as not being able to talk to other students or have lunch in the cafeteria. Gise complied with the rules and even attended night classes where she could bring baby Bezos with her.
In a 2014 Inside Edition interview, Jeff’s biological dad recounted the last time he saw his toddler son: “I was working in a Walmart and I remember them coming to visit me for some reason.” Jeff was only about three years old and the two never saw each other in person again. At the time of the interview, Jorgensen was a bike shop owner who didn’t know Jeff was his son until biographers contacted him. He passed away in 2015.
The name Bezos comes from his stepfather, who had fled Communist Cuba
After Jacklyn and Miguel wed, the family moved to Houston, Texas and Miguel adopted Jeff, passing on his last name. As a teenager, Miguel, or Mike as he also goes by, fled his homeland of Cuba to escape the Communist regime.
Earlier this year, Mike was honoured by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, who celebrated his “incredible life story and passion for education”.
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Speaking at the event, an emotional Jeff praised his immigrant father as an exemplary role model: “They [immigrants] also end up having a belief in America. They think this place creates opportunity and it does. That’s certainly the story of my dad. He came from Santiago, Cuba.”
He went on to talk about how his dad was only 16 when he arrived and spoke no English: “He had to make his way. He had those tough experiences. I think in every immigrant you’ll find a deep optimism and a deep resilience too. My dad is an intense hard worker. My dad is warm and he teaches an easy smile. My brother and sister and I could not have had a better role model.”
His parents loaned him the money to start Amazon
They ultimately loaned him US$245,000 in 1995, according to The Los Angeles Times. By 2020, Bezos has transformed this into US$1 trillion! Though the investment came with a great deal of risk, Bezos was clear and upfront with his parents about this. As per CNBC, Jeff admitted that there was as much as a 70 per cent chance that they might never get their money back.
Their combined net worth is in the billions
Although the amount of Amazon stock Jeff’s parents hold is unclear, in 2018 Bloomberg estimated that, thanks to their investment, the couple alone could be worth US$30 billion, by now likely much more. That indicates the parents’ return on their investment was around an incredible 12 million per cent.
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They just bought a Real Housewife of Miami’s mansion
Mike and Jacklyn recently made headlines after purchasing a waterfront Florida mansion for a whopping US$44 million, reported Mansion Global.
The house boasts 9,000 sq ft of living space, six bedrooms, a 3000-bottle wine cellar, 20-seater cinema and two tennis courts.
So grand is the home that, in an episode of Watch What Happens Live, host and Real Housewives executive producer Andy Cohen claimed it to be the best house ever featured on a show on the Bravo network.
