cnn
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Here’s a look at Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Birthdate: January 12, 1964
Place of birth: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Birth name: Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen
Father: Ted Jorgensen
Mother: Jackie (Gise) Bezos
Marriage: MacKenzie (Tuttle) Bezos (1993-2019, divorced)
Children: A daughter adopted from China and three sons
Education: Princeton University, BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering, 1986
He was adopted when he was young by his stepfather, Miguel “Mike” Bezos, an Exxon engineer.
1994 – Leaves DE Shaw & Co. to develop Amazon.
1999 – She is named Person of the Year by Time magazine.
2000 – Founded Blue Origin, LLC, an aerospace company to provide low-cost access to private space travel.
2011 – Bezos and his wife donate $15 million to create the Bezos Center for Neural Circuit Dynamics at Princeton University.
November 2012 – Fortune magazine names Bezos Entrepreneur of the Year 2012.
March 2012-2013 – Leads the privately funded Apollo 11 F-1 engine recovery project team, which, in March 2013, recovered parts of two rocket engines from the Atlantic seafloor. The rockets from the 1969 Apollo 11 mission remain the property of NASA.
August 5, 2013 – It is announced that Bezos buys The Washington Post. Bezos officially becomes owner on October 1.
January 1st, 2014 – Bezos is evacuated by an Ecuadorian navy helicopter from the Galapagos Islands after he develops kidney stones. An Amazon spokesperson later said no surgery was necessary.
November 24, 2015 – Bezos’ company Blue Origin successfully lands a rocket on Earth after a space flight. In the past, rockets were discarded after launching spacecraft. Reusable rockets would substantially reduce the cost of space flight.
July 18, 2016 – Amazon confirms that Bezos has a cameo as an alien in the movie “Star Trek Beyond.”
December 14, 2016 – Along with other technology executives, Bezos meets with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower to discuss issues such as education, trade and immigration.
September 5, 2018 – Bezos is contributing $10 million to With Honor, a nonpartisan organization and super PAC that aims to increase the number of veterans in politics.
September 13, 2018 – Bezos announces via Twitter that he and his wife will commit $2 billion to a fund called the “Bezos Day One Fund.” The fund will support nonprofit organizations that help homeless families and create a network of preschools in low-income communities.
January 9, 2019 – In a joint statement, Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie, announce that they are divorcing after 25 years of marriage.
February 7, 2019 – In a blog post, Bezos accuses AMI, the publisher of the National Enquirer, of trying to extort him, alleging that AMI threatened to publish compromising photos of him.
READ MORE: Jeff Bezos and the National Enquirer: a timeline of events.
March 6, 2019 – Haven, the name of the startup created by Bezos, Warren Buffett and Jamie Dimon to improve the health care system, is revealed.
March 30, 2019 – An investigator working for Bezos to uncover how evidence of his extramarital affair was provided to the National Enquirer claims Saudi Arabia had access to the information before the photos and texts were leaked. In an op-ed for the Daily Beast, Gavin de Becker says the Saudi leadership wanted to harm Bezos because of the Washington Post’s coverage of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
April 4, 2019 – Bezos and his wife announce that they have agreed to divorce terms, with MacKenzie taking 25% of the couple’s Amazon shares, which would give her a 4% stake in the company. Bezos will retain voting control over all of MacKenzie’s shares and will also maintain all of his interests in the Washington Post and Blue Origin.
May 9, 2019 – Bezos presents Blue Origin’s new rocket engine and a mockup of the lunar lander he wants to use to transport cargo or people to the Moon. The first lunar lander mission is planned for 2024.
February 17, 2020 – Bezos commits $10 billion to the Bezos Earth Fund, a new initiative to support scientists, activists and organizations working to mitigate the impact of climate change.
July 29, 2020 – Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google parent company CEO Sundar Pichai and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testify before a House antitrust subcommittee to address concerns that their businesses may be harming competition.
October 19, 2020 – Bezos Academy opens in Des Moines, Washington, the first location in a network of free preschools serving children from underserved communities.
November 16, 2020 – Bezos announces that he will donate $791 million in grants as part of his Bezos Earth Fund to 16 organizations working to protect the environment.
February 2, 2021 – In its fourth quarter 2020 earnings report, Amazon announces that Bezos will step down as CEO in the third quarter of 2021. He will transition to the role of executive chairman. Amazon Web Services CEO Andy Jassy will become CEO at that time.
May 26, 2021 – During the company’s annual shareholder meeting, Bezos announces that he will officially step down as CEO on July 5. That is the anniversary of the date Amazon was formed in 1994.
July 15, 2021 – The Smithsonian announces that Bezos will donate $200 million to the museum, the largest donation the institution has received since its founding in 1846.
July 20, 2021 – Bezos travels to space and back on an 11-minute trip aboard the rocket and capsule system developed by his space company, Blue Origin. During his post-flight press conference, he announces a new philanthropic initiative that gives recipients $100 million to donate to charities and nonprofits of their choice. The first two winners are Van Jones and José Andrés.
November 14, 2022 – In an exclusive interview, Bezos tells CNN that he will dedicate the majority of his wealth to fighting climate change and supporting people who can unify humanity in the face of deep social and political divisions.
