How Rich Has Jeff Bezos Been During Every Decade of His Life?
Written by
Karen Doyle
Edited by
Cory Dudak
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Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and Blue Origin — and owner of The Washington Post — is one of the world’s wealthiest people. But the making of his fortune hasn’t always been a straight upward trajectory.
Here’s how much Jeff Bezos has been worth each decade of his life.
Childhood (1964 – 1973)
Bezos’s childhood was far removed from the life he currently leads. He was born to teenage parents who divorced when he was under two. His mother remarried when he was four to a man who had immigrated from Cuba, went to college in the U.S. and worked as an engineer. Bezos spent summers on his grandparents’ ranch, where he learned the value of hard work.
Teenage Years (1974 – 1983)
Education was valued in the Bezos family. Bezos was a good student and was valedictorian of his high school class. He attended Princeton University, where he initially majored in physics but then changed to computer science and electrical engineering.
Twenties (1984 – 1993)
Bezos graduated from Princeton summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. His first job was at a fintech startup, and he then worked in the banking industry.
Thirties (1994 – 2003)
In 1994, Bezos started Amazon.com, along with MacKenzie Scott, his wife at the time, in a rented garage. His parents invested $300,000 in the fledgling business, and three years later, Bezos took it public, raising $54 million.
Bezos appeared on Forbes list of America’s 400 wealthiest people for the first time in 1998. He was listed at No. 102, with a net worth of $1.6 billion. His thirties were a bit of a financial roller coaster for Bezos, as that period was for most of us. During this decade, his wealth peaked at $7.8 billion in 1999, dropped to $4.7 billion in 2000, and then to $1.2 billion in 2001.
Forties (2004 – 2013)
In 2005, Bezos landed at No. 42 on the Forbes list with a net worth of $4.8 billion. By 2007, he was up to No. 35, and his net worth was $8.7 billion. By 2013, he had $27.2 billion and had advanced to No. 12 on the list.
Fifties (2014 – 2023)
Bezos continued his upward trajectory in his fifties. In 2014, he was No. 15 on the Forbes list with a net worth of $30.5 billion. In 2016, he cracked the top 10 for the first time, coming in at No. 5 with a $45.2 billion fortune. The next year, he was the second-richest American, with a net worth of $81.5 billion.
In 2018, Bezos reached the top spot on Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans, with an estimated net worth of $160 billion, making him a centibillionaire. The following year, Bezos and his wife divorced, and she received a quarter of his Amazon shares in the settlement. Nevertheless, he topped the Forbes list once again, with a net worth of $114 billion.
Bezos had a net worth of $179 billion in 2020, $201 billion in 2021, $161 billion in 2022, and $161 billion in 2023.
Sixty (2024)
Jeff Bezos turned 60 in January of this year. On the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list, his net worth as of March 14, 2024, is $196 billion. No one knows what the rest of his 60s (and beyond) will bring for Jeff Bezos, but it’s a pretty safe bet that he’s not stressing over when to collect Social Security.
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