Editor’s note: This article was first published in March 2018. The $129 billion fortune and the claim that Bezos is the richest person in history are from then. MacKenzie is called his “current wife”; they divorced in 2019 and she now uses the name MacKenzie Scott.
Jeff Bezos’s fortune is estimated at $129 billion according to Bloomberg, which makes him the richest person in history and one of the most interesting lives to take a closer look at. After reading countless pieces about Bezos, and after several articles we’ve written about him ourselves, I’d venture to say we’ve found the trait that led him to success. I hope it’s useful to other readers and entrepreneurs.
That said, Bezos’s life is so fascinating that it’s inspiring in its own right.
If I had to pick the trait behind Bezos’s success, it would be clarity and decisiveness
At 24, Jeff Bezos quit a very well-paid job to pursue his dream, which at the time was nothing more than an online bookstore. It was one of the biggest risks of his life, but he felt he had to take it.
Clear goals, immediate decisions and, perhaps, comfort with risk
He was just as decisive when it came to finding a wife, because Bezos knew exactly what kind of woman he wanted in his life. All he asked was that his future wife be resourceful. Hardly anyone can say exactly what being resourceful means, but Bezos recognized it right away.
After dating a few other women, he met his current wife, MacKenzie Bezos, at D.E. Shaw, the investment management firm where he was a vice president. In fact, he was the first person to interview her for the job.
See also: “Few but high-quality decisions”: how Jeff Bezos thinks
He proposed to MacKenzie after three months
Three months were enough for him to propose to MacKenzie, because Bezos had seen in her the quality he valued so much: she was resourceful.
But what on earth does being resourceful mean? Bezos explained it this way: he married a woman who, if he were thrown into a Third World prison tomorrow, would know how to get him out.
Besides resourcefulness, the other traits Bezos uses to describe his wife are that she is very smart and hot.
It was MacKenzie who made the first move and asked Bezos to lunch. They got engaged after three months and were married after six.
Amazon didn’t exist yet
Jeff told his wife about his business idea, and he admits that although she isn’t a businessperson, she heard a lot of passion in his voice when he talked about it.
In 1994, they both quit their jobs and moved to Seattle to found a tiny online bookstore called Amazon, which is now the giant of e-commerce.
MacKenzie was one of Amazon’s first employees, working as its accountant.
Until 1999, they rented a small one-bedroom apartment. Today (2018) they own five homes in the United States, and Bezos is among the 25 largest landowners in the country, according to Business Insider.
Probably the least extravagant billionaire couple in the world
Billionaires usually have their quirks, oddities and extravagances, but the richest couple on the planet is a different story: until recently, it’s said, MacKenzie would drive their four children to school and then drop Bezos off at work in her Honda. A family friend told Vogue that they were such a close-knit, normal family that it was almost abnormal.
See also: Amazon and Inditex: two companies out to conquer new markets
As parents, they have raised their children outside the culture of fear. One of the couple’s sayings is that they would rather have a kid with nine fingers than a resourceless kid, which is why they let their children use sharp knives from the age of four. That way, if they get hurt, they learn.
Bezos loves peace and quiet, so he wakes up without an alarm clock
He tries to have breakfast with his wife every morning and spend some time with his children, which is why he rarely schedules early-morning meetings.
Not a fan of meetings
On this point, Bezos thinks much like Steve Jobs did about meetings: there should be few of them, and they should be as small as possible. Bezos meets with Amazon’s investors for six hours a year, and he follows the two-pizza rule: if two pizzas can’t feed everyone at the meeting, there are too many people in the room.
Bezos is rumored to have hired a coach
Bezos has a reputation for being an overly explosive boss at times, and there are rumors that he may have hired an executive coach to help him keep his temper and his outbursts in check.
A frugal company
Unlike other tech giants, Amazon doesn’t give its employees massages or free lunches. Remember that for many years Amazon gave up profits for the sake of its customers and to win their trust in online shopping. In fact, Amazon played a major role in making online shopping more trustworthy.
Bezos gets the sleep he needs
Unlike many other successful businesspeople who claim to sleep only four hours a night to be more productive and gain an edge over the competition, Bezos sleeps eight hours every night.
He’s a firm believer in the restorative power of sleep. His main advice is not to cut back on it, because you need rest to face the challenges of work with a sharp mind.
See also: The 9 books that shaped Jeff Bezos’s thinking
What would Bezos be doing if he hadn’t founded Amazon?
Bezos himself says he would probably be a very happy software engineer, but the truth is that people like him, if they aren’t building one project, are soon on to the next. They tend to have such a clear mission and set of goals that they need to achieve them to feel fulfilled.
Jeff Bezos’s life is defined by knowing exactly what he wants and not hesitating when it’s time to decide. Above all, though, it’s defined by constantly taking risks. Whoever takes risks can win or lose. And Bezos won.
Featured image: Seattle City Council from Seattle, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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