Jeff Bezos

Princeton, then a company of his own

Bezos graduated from Princeton in 1986 with a degree in electrical engineering and computer science, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He founded Amazon in 1994. Amazon's press office said in July 2000 that he had launched Amazon.com five years earlier.167

He became CEO in May 1996. He was also president from the start until June 1999 and again from October 2000. In 2007 Amazon launched the Kindle.29

Two shareholder letters

Amazon's first shareholder letter, in 1997, set the tone. "We believe that a fundamental measure of our success will be the shareholder value we create over the long term," Bezos wrote. To staff he was blunter: "You can work long, hard, or smart, but at Amazon.com you can't choose two out of three."8

By 2016 the message was about pace. "Speed matters in business," he wrote in that year's letter. He also recommended the phrase "disagree and commit" and said it would "save a lot of time."11

Fifteen days between jobs

Bezos became Amazon's Executive Chair in July 2021, when Jassy took over as CEO. Amazon's 2026 proxy statement still lists him as founder and Executive Chair, and reports his 2025 salary as $81,840 and total compensation as $1,681,840.2312

Blue Origin says it exists to lower the cost and increase the safety of spaceflight. The July 2021 crew included Bezos, his brother Mark, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen.416

A newspaper and $10 billion for the climate

In 2013 Bezos bought The Washington Post for $250 million. Amazon's investor relations page still describes him as its owner.110

He has also put money into two funds. The Bezos Day One Fund committed grants for homeless families and preschools, and the Bezos Earth Fund is a $10 billion commitment to climate and nature.1718

Cases against Amazon, not against him

The legal cases below concern Amazon and its Ring unit as companies. In 2023 the FTC and a group of states sued Amazon, alleging practices that stifle competition. Amazon said that if the FTC won, the result would be fewer products, higher prices and slower deliveries.151920

In September 2025 a stipulated court order settled the FTC's claims over Prime enrolment and cancellation, with a $1 billion civil penalty and $1.5 billion in refunds. Amazon said it and its executives had always followed the law. In 2023 the DOJ and FTC settled claims about Alexa and children's data for $25 million, and Ring settled FTC claims about customer video privacy. Amazon and Ring both said they disagreed with the claims and denied violating the law.131415212223

In Europe, the Commission made Amazon's commitments on seller data and the Buy Box legally binding in 2023. Amazon said it disagreed with the Commission's preliminary conclusions but worked with it on the concerns. In April 2020 Amazon workers protested over what they described as inadequate protections and retribution during the pandemic.242526

Bezos, year by year

1. 1986

   Graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton in electrical engineering and computer science16

2. 1994

   Founded Amazon17

3. May 1996

   Became Amazon's CEO, a post he held until July 20212

4. 1997

   Wrote Amazon's first shareholder letter, which named long-term shareholder value as a fundamental measure of success8

5. 2007

   Amazon launched the Kindle9

6. Oct 2013

   Took over as owner of The Washington Post, which he bought for $250 million10

7. 2016

   Wrote in his shareholder letter that speed matters in business and recommended the phrase "disagree and commit"11

8. Jul 2021

   Became Executive Chair when Andy Jassy took over as CEO on 5 July, and flew on Blue Origin's first crewed New Shepard flight on 20 July2412

9. 2023

   Amazon settled FTC claims over Alexa's handling of children's data ($25 million penalty) and, through its Ring unit, over customer video privacy1314

10. Sep 2025

    Amazon agreed to pay a $1 billion civil penalty and $1.5 billion in refunds to settle FTC claims over Prime enrolment15

Questions people ask about Jeff Bezos

Amazon on Kenning