Who is the Richest Person In The World

Who is the Richest Person in the World
Who is the Richest Person in the World

10 Facts About the Richest Person In The World

 

So, who is the richest person in the world? According to reports, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos exceeded Bill Gates last July to become not just the globe’s richest man, the richest person within the world with an estimated worth of $90.6 billion.

 

Jeff Bezos is the founder and CEO of Amazon.com, and as of November 1, 2017 he was worth $93.5 billion. Amazon’s chief Bezos shortly topped Forbes’ ranks of Earth’s richest in July of 2017, as his Internet retailer’s stock exploded. Here are a few fast facts about

him which will be discussed more in detail below:

 

  • Bezos owns almost 17 percent of Amazon, which he founded inside a garage in Seattle in the year 1994.
  • Jeff went to Princeton and worked with a hedge fund before he quit to sell books on the Internet.
  • Jeff’s other passion includes space travel: Blue Origin, his aerospace company, is creating a reusable rocket which Bezos claims will carry passengers.
  • In 2013, Jeff bought The Washington Post for $250 million.

 

Jeffrey Preston Bezos (well-known as Jeff Bezos), the founder of amongst the most successful e-commerce site Amazon.com, came into the world on Sunday, Jan. 12th, 1964. Jeff shares the exact same birthday as additional famous personalities such as Kristie Alley (actress) from the “Look who’s Talking” film, Nathan Gamble (actor), “Toy Story” John Lasseter (director), “Hangover” Rachael Harris (actress) and musician Rob Zombie. Without further ado, here are 10 facts about Jeff Bezos, the richest person in the world.

10Bezos Owns Almost 17 Percent of Amazon, Which Was Founded in 1994 Inside A Seattle Garage

 

Jeff set up shop for his fledgling business in his garage in which, in conjunction with a couple of employees, he started to develop software. They grew operations into a two-bedroom home that had three Sun Microstations, and ultimately created a test site. After he invited 300 pals to beta test that site, Jeff opened Amazon.com on July 16, 1995, which was named after the meandering S. American River. The company’s initial success was mediocre. Without any press promotion, Amazon sold books around the U.S. and within 45 foreign countries inside of one month.

 

In two months, sales skyrocketed to $20,000 per week, expanding quicker than Jeff and his start-up staff envisioned. In 1997, Amazon went public, and led multiple market analysts to question if the company would be able to hold its own as traditional retailers started their own e-commerce websites. The start-up not just kept up, but two years later, also outpaced the competition and became a leader in e-commerce.

 

Jeff continuously diversified Amazon’s offerings through the sale of videos and CDs in 1998, and later, clothing, toys, electronics, and much more via major retail partnerships. As most dot.coms of the ’90s went bust, his company flourished with annual sales which hopped from $510,000 in 1995 to more than $17 billion in 2011. Amazon.com, in 2006, launched the video on demand service; originally referred to as Amazon Unbox on TiVo, and eventually was rebranded as Amazon Instant Video. Within 2007, Amazon released its Kindle, the handheld digital book reader which, permitted users to purchase, download, read, as well as store their selections of books.

9  Bezos Went to College And Worked with A Hedge Fund Before He Quit to Sell Books On the Internet

 

After graduating from college in early 1994, Jeff started directly working with D.E. Shaw to investigate online business opportunities. After years on the esoteric fringes, the Web was coming mainstream with the dawn of the World Wide Web. In 1985, Jeff first had used the web, within a Princeton astrophysics course, yet never considered its commercial opportunities until 1994 when working with Shaw. Shaw and Bezos met for a couple of hours every week to brainstorm ideas; Jeff then would go off by himself and research them. Bezos enumerated 20 products which might be sold on the internet, amongst them trading services, software, compact discs and, down on the list, books.

 

The idea of selling books on the internet was a simple one. So simple that Jeff certainly didn’t think of the idea first. He was thinking more complex when he first started his brainstorming. But, books easily could be sampled on the internet. At the time, there were around three million books in print, 10 times the amount of CDs. Once he realized there was more product available with books, he started to change his tune.

 

The web’s search abilities made it simple to “browse” by title, author, keyword, and publisher–an arduous procedure in a physical store. Also, Bezos discovered research which stated that web use was increasing by 2,300% per year. He and Shaw spoke for two hours just about these facts. Shaw told Jeff he could have an extremely bright future at the company, yet stated that he understood Jeff’s need to begin his own–something Shaw himself had accomplished in 1988, as he left Morgan Stanley. Jeff took two days to make his final decision. Jeff gave Shaw his answer and prepared for a road trip, which changed his life, forever.

8  Jeff Has a Passion for Space Travel

 

Jeff Bezos adoration for science evolved over time. His curiosity in space travel is the purpose behind the launching of his new start-up “Blue Origin” that handles human spaceflight. This venture still is in its infancy testing phase. He’d been working on the project since 2000 to 2001, yet it only was in the year 2006 that the venture became known by the general public. Jeff, with Blue Origin, has the goal of making a regular man safely travel to space and also at an affordable price.

 

Bezos’ Blue Origin already has accomplished its objective of launching a reusable rocket inside outer space. Currently it’s prepared to take the next measure and place a satellite or people into the orbit of the earth. “New Shepard,” the company’s existing rocket, only has made suborbital flights reaching just beyond the corners of Earth’s atmosphere and gravity before going back to land upright upon the ground. Recently, the Amazon founder announced his plans for a multi-stage rocket which easily would almost go as high as the Saturn V rocket. This carried astronauts into the moon, and might have the ability to take payloads to orbit around Earth.

 

This new rocket is going to be called “New Glenn,” after John Glenn, who became the original American in 1962 to orbit Earth. “New Shepard” was given its name after Alan Shepard, who was the original American in space nine months before John Glenn’s flight. The three-stage rocket would have the ability to attain orbit where the International Space Station currently circles Earth, as well as shuttle flights reached.

7  In 2013, Bezos Bought the Washington Post For $250 Million

 

On August 5, 2013, he made headlines around the world when he bought The Washington Post and additional publications that are affiliated with its parent business, The Washington Post Company, for $250 million. That deal marked the completion of a four-generation reign over the Post Company by the Graham family, which included Donald E. Graham, its chief executive and chairman, and niece, Katharine Weymouth, the Post’s publisher.

 

In an effort to explain this transaction, Graham said that ‘The Post could’ve survived underneath the organization’s ownership and been profitable for a foreseeable future.’ He added that he wanted to do more than just survive. He isn’t saying that guarantees success, yet it’ll give them a greater opportunity of success.

6  He’s The “Greatest Living CEO”

 

He’s the “Greatest living CEO” according to the Harvard Business Review. The list of the 100 Top Performing CEOs recently was featured inside the Harvard Business Review. The most distinctive list feature is that the CEOs were rated bearing in mind their long-range performance, instead of short-range performance. The Apple founder, Steve Jobs, was named as the top CEO followed up by Jeff Bezos. Jobs passed away, and made Jeff the best performing CEO alive. Both Jeff and Steve had the ability to do something the majority of CEOs fail to accomplish. Both had the ability to exceed expectations by boosting their shareholder’s return on investment by a margin most would’ve felt was unrealistic. Job’s effort allowed shareholders to receive nearly 67 times of their investment. Bezos had the ability to accomplish an amazing 124 times return on investments made by shareholders.

 

It’s surprising just how well Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs performed.  During Steve’s tenure, investors in Apple accomplished an ROI of 66.8 times their money.  Within Bezos’ tenure the shareholders accomplished an incredible 124.3 times ROI on their money.  Within an age when the majority of us are glad to make five to 10 percent a year – equating to doubling your money around one time per ten years – these CEOs exceeded everyone’s expectations 30 to 60-fold! Both CEOs accomplished greatness by transforming an entire industry.  All of us know the Apple story.  Amazon’s story is all the more amazing because it was written in the more mundane realm of retail – not well-known for being as fast-changing as technology.

5Amazon Wasn’t First Choice of Name

 

One interesting thing that’s common between Amazon and eBay is that both names weren’t the first choices by their founders. Pierre Omidyar, eBay’s founder, imagined “Echo Bay” as the venture’s name, yet could not keep it as its name already was taken by another company. In the instance of Amazon, Bezos originally planned on naming it “Cadabra” (from the term Abracadabra). But, as he told this to his attorney, he misheard it and referred to it as “Cadaver” (which means dead body). The association displeased Bezos and he named the venture Amazon, which was inspired by the Amazon river.

 

Bezos, in September of 1994, bought the URL for “Online Shopping for DVDs, Books, Computers, Apparel, Electronics & More,” and for a short time, considered naming the online store Relentless; however, friends said to him that the name sounded somewhat sinister. The domain still is owned by Jeff and still redirects to that retailer. The business went on the internet in 1995 as “Online Shopping for DVDs, Books, Computers, Apparel, Electronics, & More

 

Bezos chose the name Amazon by flipping through the dictionary then settled on “Amazon” because it was an area which was “different and exotic” like he prepared for his store to be. The Amazon river, Jeff noted, was the “biggest” river worldwide, and he had plans to make the store the biggest worldwide.

4  Jeff Was an Early Innovator of Inventions

 

Jeff always had a little bit of a knack for discovering how things work. In “Bezos: King of Amazon,” Josepha Sherman (author) wrote, ‘From the time Bezos was a toddler, he was busy attempting to change his world. Bezos felt that he was too old to sleep inside a ‘baby’ crib; therefore, he located a screwdriver then took apart his crib. Rather than getting angry, his family encouraged him. He had younger siblings, Christina and Mark. As his brother and sister learned to walk, they liked to go inside their brother’s room because of all of the fascinating “toys.” In order to warn him that they were on the way, Jeff attached an alarm to the door in his bedroom which made a loud buzzing noise as someone entered.

 

As Bezos was 12-years-old he wanted something referred to as an Infinity Cube. The gadget was a set of tiny motorized mirrors which reflected off one another so the images endlessly seemed to go on. It was priced at $20, yet Bezos didn’t have enough funds to purchase it. Instead, he bought mirrors and additional parts with what funds he had and built his own reflecting cube. Jeff constructed other inventions, which included amateur robots. During one point, he accumulated so much clutter inside the bedroom, his parents made him move all his half-finished experiments and devices inside the garage. There are several similar tales that surround his childhood years. Bezos spent endless hours constructing models and a variety of electronics kits. Jeff worked on science projects, oftentimes coming up with his very own “inventions.”

3Bezos Graduated from Princeton  

 

Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, studied computer programming and electrical engineering at Princeton. In 1986, he graduated and wrote Amazon’s original business plan when he drove from NYC to LA with Mackenzie, his wife, who also attended Princeton. After he graduated with honors from his high school, he made a decision to follow in Stephen Hawking’s footsteps and enroll within Princeton University’s physics program. However, he soon realized that this subject was too challenging for him; therefore, he transferred to a double major in computer science and electronics. He found out that he excelled at developing software programs. Jeff graduated with highest honors in 1986, Phi Beta Kappa, and earned degrees in the still new industry of computer science and electrical engineering.

 

Jeff turned down many job offers from big corporations and instead, he took a position with a freshly formed fiber optic business, Fitel. Jeff’s task included helping the business construct a computer network especially for international finance. Jeff took a job creating managing investment fund systems in1988 at New York City’s Banker’s Trust. Jeff moved to the Wall Street investment company of D. E. Shaw and Co. after two years as a computer specialist. At age 28, in 1992, he became the company’s youngest ever VP; and two years later was promoted to senior VP.

2Bezos Dreamed of Being an Astronaut or a Cowboy

 

Jeff Bezos, at various times, dreamed of becoming an astronaut or a cowboy. Jeff was a fan of Star Trek and went so far as to name his dog “Kamala” after a small character from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Heroes included American inventor Thomas Edison, Stephen Hawking, the famed astrophysicist, and Walt Disney, even though he wasn’t any fan of Mickey Mouse and other characters. He was instead fascinated with how Disney derived the animatronics and electronics utilized in Disney World inside Orlando, FL.

 

Disney knew precisely what he’d wanted to construct and teamed with a lot of smart folks and constructed it. Everybody thought it would not work, and he’d asked the banks to lend $400 million. However, he accomplished it. Most family members and friends likely would say the exact same thing about Jeff and the way in which he took Amazon from a concept to a multi-billion-dollar organization. However, Bezos did it a lot faster than Disney.

 

You would hardly recognize Jeff Bezos within the heavy-duty make-up he wears as an alien official in Star Trek Beyond, the most recent Starship Enterprise voyage. However, just to be certain you have the ability to see him, he put up a Vine video where you’re able to witness him grabbing a bite when waiting for his scene. He says “Cheers” into the camera. Bezos, in a Twitter update, stated that the appearance on Star Trek checked off one thing on his bucket list.

1Jeff Spent His Childhood on Grandfather’s Cattle Farm

 

The founder of Amazon once spent his summer childhood at his grandfather’s cattle farm. He once took part in the routine tasks being carried out at his ranch. That included plumbing, cleaning, fixing windmills, and even castrating and vaccinating cattle.

 

From an early age, Bezos showed amazing mechanical skill, which matches well with his various scientific interests. As mentioned earlier, as a toddler, he managed to dismantle the crib using a screwdriver and as a teenager, created an electric alarm that kept his brother and sister out of his bedroom.

 

His ancestors on the mother’s side were Texas settlers who owned a huge ranch at Cotulla, which was passed to them over generations. Lawrence Preston Gise, Jeff’s grandfather, was an AEC regional director inside Albuquerque and supervised the Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos nuclear laboratories before he retired to the family ranch.

 

In Houston, Bezos went to River Oaks Elementary School from fourth through sixth grade. As mentioned earlier, he’d spent his summers at his grandfather’s ranch working on various activities like fixing windmills, laying pipe, vaccinating cattle, and additional farm work. Lawrence Gise, his grandfather, was a big role model in his life, with the wide-ranging know-how of science and frequent presence on the ranch. Jeff told graduates in a 2010 commencement speech, that Gise taught him how ‘it is more difficult to be kind than to be clever.’

 

Conclusion  

 

Amazon, at the end of 1999, became a multi-billion dollar enterprise that offered 3.5 M titles for sale. It grew into various other merchandise, which included videos and music, and set operations up in Europe.  With huge success came a lot of adversity. Amazon had become involved in many notable suits filed by Wal-Mart and Barnes & Noble. However, no issues compared with its biggest hardship of all: making Amazon profitable. Amazon lost funds each year, which included $1.4 B in the year 2000. The company, in 2001, laid off 1300 employees and instituted additional measures at cost cutting. This belt-tightening worked as the corporation posted its initial net profit of $5.1 M in 2001 for its fourth quarter.

 

In spite of his busy schedule, the founder of the globe’s biggest bookstore still finds time to read. Bezos purchases around 10 books per month even though he only reads three. Favorites include James C. Collins’ book, “Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies,” Kazuo Ishiguro’s “Remains of the Day,” and Frank Herbert’s “Dune.”

 

Bezos, for his future is prepared to make Amazon.com some place folks can purchase anything they desire on the Internet. Now that Amazon is solidly rooted, Jeff and his wife, Mackenzie wish to turn all of their attention to charity work. According to Bezos, during some point, they want to discover how to perform philanthropic work which is highly leveraged. It is easy to ineffectively give away funds. However, doing it properly requires at least as much energy and attention as building up a successful business.

 

 

 

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Dave is a voracious reader and ferocious writer of top 10 lists. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his wife, mountain biking in Southern California, and running. List Land gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post. List Land also generates revenue through sponsored or paid posts. Thanks for reading, please support our sponsors.