Whether you like it or not, you’ve probably been connected to Jeff Bezos in one way or another. The Amazon CEO has his toes dipped in many different projects and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. However, despite the fact that Bezos has spent a considerable amount of time in the spotlight and under the scrutiny of the public eye, there are still some things that many people don’t know. With that in mind, here we present our list of 15 things you probably didn’t know about Jeff Bezos. Check out part one below, and stay tuned for part two, coming soon!
Number Fifteen: He Was Vice President by the Time He Was 26 Years Old. Bezos became the Vice President of D.E. Shaw when he was just 26 years old in 1990. He was the youngest ever Vice President of the company.
Number Fourteen: He Is Hands-On. Rather than read about commerce, in 1994, Bezos flew to Los Angeles so he could attend the American Booksellers Convention. He went in an effort to learn some in-depth information about how book business is conducted.
Number Thirteen: He Did Not Want to Name His Company Amazon. In fact, Bezos wanted to name the company Cadabra. However, he was convinced by Amazon’s lawyer at the time, Todd Tarbert, that Cadabra sounded too much like the word for a dead body – “cadaver.”
Number Twelve: He Recovered Apollo 11’s Engines From the Ocean Floor. In 2013, Bezos and a diving team traveled deep down to the ocean floor to retrieve Apollo 11’s F-1 Engines.
Number Eleven: He Invested in a 10,000 Year Clock. If you visit www.10000yearclock.net, you’ll find a letter signed by Jeff Bezos about project describing a 10,000-year clock designed to be a symbol for long-term thinking. the clock will be completed “many years into the future” and will be located in the Sierra Diablo mountains.
Number Ten: He Takes a Modest Salary. Bezos maintains a modest salary of $82,000 each year. This comes in the face of his net worth, which is an impressive $30 billion.
Number Nine: He Was an Early Investor in Google. And in fact, Bezos’ stake in Google would be worth more than $2 billion today!