Jeff Bezos is one of the richest people in the world, with most of his wealth tied to his shares of Amazon (AMZN +1.41%). But the billionaire entrepreneur has also built a diversified investment portfolio that includes a long list of companies and projects. In this profile, we'll go over his current roles, investment strategy, and notable moments in his career.
Primary role
Jeff Bezos is the executive chairman of Amazon's board of directors. He's also the e-commerce giant's founder and former chief executive officer (CEO), stepping down from the latter role in 2021. Although he's no longer CEO, he still has an active role at Amazon and supports the leadership team.
In addition, Bezos is the founder of Blue Origin, Bezos Day One Fund, and Bezos Expeditions, the latter being the investment firm he uses to manage his personal portfolio. He also owns The Washington Post, which he bought in 2013 for $250 million.
Investment
Bezos also has a diversified portfolio. It's heavy on technology companies, but even those companies don't all occupy the same niche. He has invested in artificial intelligence (AI), social networks, real estate platforms, sports media, education, and much more.
In recent years, Bezos has been investing in companies that cater to the younger generation. One holding, Overtime, caters to Gen Z sports fans. Another, Save Trees, focuses on sustainability, which has proven to be particularly important to younger consumers.
Career highlights
Jeff Bezos is most famous for starting Amazon. He launched the company on July 5, 1994, and it went public with an initial public offering (IPO) in 1997. Since then, Amazon has become one of the world's most valuable companies, the largest e-commerce company, and the largest cloud services provider.
In September 2000, Bezos founded Blue Origin, a company with the mission of building a road to space. He traveled to space with the company on its NS-16 sub-orbital spaceflight in 2021.
Philosophy & legacy
A crucial part of Jeff Bezos's success is his willingness to take on risk and embrace failure. He left a well-paying job at a hedge fund to start Amazon, sacrificing stability and a steady paycheck to build an online retail business. He has also demonstrated this approach in his decision-making at Amazon and the early-stage investments he has made.
Bezos wrote about this attitude toward high-risk, high-reward endeavors in his 2015 letter to Amazon shareholders.
Given a ten percent chance of a 100 times payoff, you should take that bet every time. But you're still going to be wrong nine times out of ten. We all know that if you swing for the fences, you're going to strike out a lot, but you're also going to hit some home runs.
The Amazon founder has also talked about his "regret minimization framework," which he uses to make big decisions. He imagines he's looking back on his life at age 80 and considers which decision will minimize the number of regrets he has. He's willing to accept the possibility of a poor outcome from a decision, as long as it's a decision he can live with.
While Bezos hasn't published any books, he wrote Amazon's annual letter to shareholders from 1997 to 2020. Invent and Wander: The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos compiles those shareholder letters, as well as numerous transcripts of speeches and interviews he has given. If you'd like to learn more about Bezos and his approach to business, this book is a good place to start.
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Awards and honors
Jeff Bezos has received a number of awards and honors throughout his career. Here are some highlights:
- Time named him Person of the Year in 1999.
- U.S. News & World Report chose him as one of America's best leaders in 2008.
- Carnegie Mellon University awarded him an honorary doctorate in science and technology in 2008.
- Fortune named him Businessperson of the Year in 2012.
- Harvard Business Review ranked him as the best CEO in the world from 2014 through 2018.
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