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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsJeff Bezos graduated from Princeton in 1986, worked in finance, and founded Amazon in 1994 as an online bookseller. He stepped down as Amazon CEO in 2021 and is now its executive chair. His net worth is not a fixed or audited figure: Forbes estimated it at $378.6 billion on October 8, 2026, while Bloomberg’s earlier May 20, 2026 estimate was $283 billion.
Education and early career
Bezos graduated from Princeton University in 1986, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, with a degree in electrical engineering and computer science, according to Amazon’s official biography. Biography.com says he graduated from Miami Palmetto Senior High School in 1982.
After Princeton, Bezos worked at Fitel, Bankers Trust and D. E. Shaw. Biography.com reports that he became a vice president at D. E. Shaw in 1990, described there as the firm’s youngest vice president. His move from finance to entrepreneurship came when he left the firm to start an online retail business.
Jeff Bezos’s career milestones
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Bezos founded Amazon. The company began as an online bookseller, according to Bloomberg’s profile and timeline. |
| 1995 | Amazon’s public website launched on July 16, according to Biography.com. This is distinct from the company’s founding in 1994. |
| 1997 | Amazon went public on May 15, according to Biography.com. Bloomberg lists the IPO price as $18 per share. |
| 1999 | Bezos was named TIME Person of the Year, a recognition noted in Amazon’s official biography and Bloomberg’s timeline. |
| 2007 | Amazon introduced Kindle, according to Bloomberg’s timeline. |
| 2013 | Bezos purchased The Washington Post, according to Bloomberg’s timeline. Amazon’s biography identifies him as the paper’s owner. |
| 2021 | Bezos stepped down as Amazon CEO and became executive chair. In July, he joined Blue Origin’s first crewed mission, according to Bloomberg. |
Amazon’s founding, Bezos’s personal milestones and the company’s later product and corporate history are related but not interchangeable: founding the business in 1994, launching its public website in 1995 and holding an IPO in 1997 were separate events.
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Jeff Bezos net worth: why estimates differ
Net worth is an estimate of assets minus liabilities, not a directly observed cash balance. Bezos’s wealth estimates are especially sensitive to the value assigned to his Amazon shares and to how publishers assess private holdings. Forbes displayed a real-time estimate of $378.6 billion as of October 8, 2026, ranking him second worldwide on that page. That is Forbes’s estimate for that date, not an audited statement of his personal finances.
Bloomberg’s profile showed $283 billion as of May 20, 2026, at 11:02 p.m. UTC. This is an earlier snapshot, not a same-day competing estimate to Forbes’s October figure. Bloomberg reported that a May 2026 Amazon company filing showed Bezos owned about 8.2% of Amazon, his largest asset. Bloomberg says its index updates each business day after the New York market close, values publicly traded stakes at the latest closing price, and converts them to U.S. dollars at current exchange rates. It also notes that private assets are harder to value; its Bezos profile values Blue Origin at investment cost.
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Different snapshot dates and valuation methods mean the two figures should not be averaged or treated as a precise accounting of spendable wealth. For a current figure, check the publisher’s live profile and its “as of” date: Forbes and Bloomberg.
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Brad Stone’s The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon is a reported account of Amazon and its founder, rather than a comprehensive personal biography. Hachette lists it as a 416-page trade paperback published by Little, Brown Paperbacks. See the publisher’s book page for edition information; retailer availability and prices can change.
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