If you’re wondering how much Amazon creator Jeff Bezos earns, know that he is one of the richest men in the world: here’s his net worth.
How much does Jeff Bezos, the creator of Amazon, earn? This is a question that we have all asked ourselves at least once, given that the person who created the e-commerce giant from nothing, according to the specialized magazine Forbes, would be the third richest man in the world in 2024.
Previously, Jeff Bezos was the richest man in the world for a long time, then handing over the scepter to the Frenchman Bernard Arnault - head of the luxury and fashion giant LVMH - and to Tesla’s father Elon Musk.
Bezos could currently count on a personal wealth of 194 billion dollars, down compared to the past due to the divorce with his now ex-wife MacKenzie Scott to whom he had to give up a good part of his Amazon shares: it is no coincidence that the writer has now entered the ranking - again by Forbes - of the richest women in the world.
Bezos’ wealth in fact comes mainly from the ownership of shares of Amazon, but also from other companies born from shrewd investments: Blue Origin - which looks at space colonization - and the Washington Post of which he is the publisher after having acquired it in 2013 and many others.
Let’s see how much Jeff Bezos’ net worth is, also taking a look at his investments, charitable works, biography and what Amazon’s earnings are.
How much does Jeff Bezos earn: the updated net worth of the Amazon boss
The most reliable data regarding his net worth comes from Forbes: the well-known American financial magazine draws up a ranking of the richest men in the world every year and Jeff Bezos currently occupies third place.
By 2024, Bezos could count on a personal wealth estimated at $194 billion, a record for the founder of Amazon, given that he would also do better than the golden period of 2021, while not feeling the “blow” that came with his divorce.
In 2023, however, Bezos could have counted on a personal wealth estimated at $148 billion, down from the peak of 2021 when he looked down on everyone in this special ranking with $177 billion in cash.
Now things seem to be going even better for him, with the pandemic having given a further boost to the affirmation of Amazon as the absolute leader in the e-commerce sector.
How Much Does Amazon, Bezos’ Creation, Make?
To understand the reason for Jeff Bezos’ wealth, just take a look at the numbers of Amazon in 2023, the company recorded a revenue of 574 billion dollars for a profit of 30.4 billion dollars.
At the time of his divorce in 2021, Bezos retained 9.98% of Amazon shares, while his ex-wife obtained 3.44%. At the beginning of the year, however, the entrepreneur sold 12 million shares - earning 2 billion dollars - and could sell up to 50 million by the end of the year.
Given Amazon’s numbers and this progressive sale of the shares in his possession, Jeff Bezon could soon return to being the richest man in the world.
Who is Jeff Bezos and how he created Amazon (from scratch)
Jeff Bezos, entrepreneur and pioneer in the e-commerce sector, was born on January 12, 1964 in Albuquerque, New Mexico (United States). Since his youth, Bezos loved computers, which is why he studied computer science and electrical engineering at Princeton University.
After graduating, he worked on Wall Street and in 1990 he became the youngest senior vice president at the investment firm D.E. Shaw. Four years later, he left his well-paying job to found Amazon.com, a virtual bookstore that over time became one of the greatest success stories of the Internet.
Bezos opened the office of his new company in his garage where, together with a few employees, he began to develop the software. They expand operations into a two-bedroom house, and the team eventually develops a test website.
After inviting 300 friends to test the site in beta, Bezos opens Amazon.com, named after the famous South American river, on July 16, 1995.
The company’s initial success is impressive. Without any promotion, Amazon.com sells books in the United States and 45 foreign countries in 30 days. Within two months, sales are generating $20,000 a week, much faster growth than Bezos and his startup team had anticipated.
Amazon.com goes public in 1997, causing many market analysts to question whether the company could compete with traditional retailers launching their own e-commerce sites. Two years later, the startup not only keeps pace, but also surpasses its competitors, eventually becoming the e-commerce leader.
In 2006, Amazon.com launches its video-on-demand service; initially known as Amazon Unbox on TiVo, it is later renamed Amazon Instant Video. In 2007, the company launches the Kindle, a handheld digital book reader that allows users to purchase, download, read, and store multiple books.
In early December 2013, Bezos makes headlines when he reveals a new Amazon trial initiative, called "Amazon Prime Air," which uses drones — remotely controlled machines that can perform a variety of human tasks — for delivery services provided to customers.
According to Bezos, these drones can carry items weighing up to five pounds and can travel within a distance of 10 miles from the company’s fulfillment center. He also claims that Prime Air could become a reality in as little as four or five years.
Bezos also had one of Amazon’s few major missteps when the company launched the Fire Phone in 2014; criticized for being too imaginative, it was discontinued the following year. However, Bezos scored a victory by developing original content through Amazon Studios.
After introducing several new shows in 2013, Amazon had success in 2014 with the acclaimed “Transparent” and “Mozart in the Jungle.” In 2015, the company produced and released Spike Lee’s “Chi-Raq” as its first original feature film.
In 2016, Bezos stepped in front of the camera for a cameo appearance as an alien in “Star Trek Beyond.”
In 2019, after 25 years of marriage, he divorced his wife MacKenzie, to whom he transferred 16% of Amazon shares; in 2021, he finally opted to step back and stop being the CEO of his creation.
Jeff Bezos beyond Amazon: investments and philanthropy
Few people know that Bezos also owns a venture capital company through which he makes investments, Bezos Expeditions, which saw him appear among the first shareholders of Google: back in 1998, the current CEO of Amazon invested 250 thousand dollars in Big G in exchange for 3 million shares, an investment that in 2017 brought in 3.1 billion dollars.
This is just one of many examples, but Bezos is also someone who looks to the future and part of the wealth obtained from Amazon, which in 2019 reached a value of 315 billion dollars, is invested in the many collateral projects of the online shopping giant.
Blue Origin, Bezos’ space project, aims to form the first extraterrestrial colonies by 2025: not only that, among the plans of the Amazon CEO there is also that of exploiting the lunar surface to host heavy industry, transferring everything that harms planet Earth to the satellite.
His investments then extend into the pharmaceutical sector: his are PillPack, an online pharmacy for personalized medicines acquired for a billion dollars, and Whole Foods Market, a supermarket chain that focuses on organic products.
Despite criticism, the latest being that he donated “only” $600,000 to the fires in Australia, part of Jeff Bezos’s wealth and earnings are also donated to charity and charity: in 2012 he fought to legalize same-sex marriage, donating $2.5 million to the state of Washington, and other proceeds were donated using Bezos Expeditions (from the Princeton Institute for Neuroscience to TheDream.US, a fund that provides scholarships to undocumented immigrants brought to the United States when they were minors).
Such a high wealth, however, often makes the figures donated by Bezos seem insignificant, and for many, he is still a budding philanthropist. After all, his current job is to be one of the richest men on Earth. Original article published on Money.it Italy. Original title: Quanto guadagna Jeff Bezos, il creatore di Amazon?
