Jeff Bezos' Net Worth Is 12 Figures—How He Grew His Empire From Garage Startup to Global Giant

Key Takeaways

• Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is the third-richest person in the world as of November 2024, according to Forbes' Real Time Billionaires Index.
• Bezos has an estimated net worth near $230 billion. He owns a little less than 9% of Amazon.com, or about 926 million shares.
• The Amazon founder has an extensive real estate portfolio, estimated to be worth over $500 million.

Amazon’s (AMZN) former CEO and current executive chair Jeff Bezos, with an estimated net worth near $230 billion, is the third-richest person in the world as of November 2024, according to Forbes' Real Time Billionaires Index.

Bezos owns a little less than 9% of Amazon, the world's largest online retailer and one of the main factors behind his fortune. Bezos' estimated wealth trails that of Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk and, just barely, Oracle (ORCL) CEO Larry Ellison, according to Forbes. (He's ahead of Ellison by another measure, Bloomberg's Billionaires Index.)

Here is how Bezos made his billions.

He Founded Amazon

As Amazon's founder and former CEO, Bezos helped build the world’s largest online retailer, which in fiscal 2023 made about $575 billion in net sales. Americans spent about $7.2 trillion on ecommerce in 2023, with nearly half of that coming through Amazon.com.

In November, Bezos sold about $214 million worth of Amazon shares, leaving him with about 926 million shares in the company.

Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 out of his garage with a $10,000 investment and help from his now ex-wife Mackenzie Scott. Bezos stepped down as CEO of Amazon in 2021 but has stayed on as executive chair.

Other Companies Owned by Bezos: The Washington Post and Blue Origin

Bezos bought The Washington Post for $250 million in 2013, after which the site’s traffic and audience skyrocketed, beating The New York Times for the first time in terms of unique web viewers in the U.S. Traffic has decreased by more than 50% over the last few years, according to reporting by Puck from January 2024. In October 2024, the Post lost hundreds of thousands of subscribers after it declined to endorse a candidate in the 2024 presidential election.

Space exploration company Blue Origin, is another company Bezos founded. It was among the first commercial companies to launch a reusable rocket, in 2016. In 2021, Bezos was part of Blue Origin’s first successful crewed flight to space, which reached an altitude just above 62 miles.

Blue Origin's current valuation couldn't be determined. The company raised $185 million in a funding round in December 2021. Bezos has invested billions of his own money into the company.

As of July 2023, Blue Origin was looking to establish a launch site outside of the U.S., according to the Financial Times. The company has more launches, including of its New Glenn rocket, scheduled for this year and beyond.

Bezos' Big Tech Investments: Uber, Workday, Airbnb, and More

Bezos is invested in other big tech companies beyond Amazon. In 2013, Bezos invested more than $30 million in leading rideshare app Uber (UBER), which went public in 2019 and reported a total of $37.2 billion in revenue in 2023. 

Another of Bezos' notable investments was in cloud human resources company Workday (WDAY). After Bezos’ investment in the company, Workday went public in an initial public offering (IPO) that valued it at $637 million in 2012. Workday is worth more than $70 billion today.

Nextdoor (KIND), Airbnb (ABNB), X (formerly Twitter), Business Insider, and Cloud Paper are some other companies in Bezos' portfolio.

Bezos Has An Extensive Real Estate Portfolio

Bezos has an extensive real estate portfolio, with properties across the country estimated to be worth over $500 million, Architectural Digest wrote earlier this year.

Among them is the historic Jack Warner Estate in Beverly Hills, Calif., which Bezos bought for $165 million in 2020. The property is named after original owner Jack Warner, one of the co-founders of film studio Warner Bros.

Bezos last year relocated from his longtime home base, Seattle, to Miami, where he owns several multimillion-dollar properties. Bezos bought a third property for about $90 million on Miami's exclusive Indian Creek Island. The Amazon founder's three properties on the man-made island known as "Billionaire Bunker" are worth about $177 million combined.

In 2021, Bezos bought a $78 million 14-acre property on Maui, the most expensive home bought on the island.

Bezos owns several apartments in New York City. He bought three apartments in Manhattan overlooking Madison Square Park for $80 million in 2019. It was one of the most expensive real estate transactions in New York City that year, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

The Amazon founder also owns a 400,000-acre ranch in Texas, serving as Blue Origin's base. And he owns a 417-foot yacht that cost over $500 million to build, according to Bloomberg.

Charitable Acts

In 2022, Bezos said he will give most of his money to charity during his lifetime.

Specifically, he hopes to help fight climate change and heal social and political division in the world. To those ends, Bezos founded the charitable organizations Bezos Day One Fund and the Bezos Family Foundation, which provides academic grants and scholarships.

He also founded the Bezos Earth Fund with a commitment of $10 billion for grants to address climate change and sustainability.

Do you have a news tip for Investopedia reporters? Please email us at tips@investopedia.com