... was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1964. His parents married after the conception but before the birth. They were Jacklyn Gise and Ted Jorgensen – both high school students, aged 17 and 18 respectively. Their marriage lasted only 17 months before ending in divorce; even before this, Gise had moved in with her parents because of Jorgensen's inappropriate lifestyle (staying out late and getting drunk).
Three years later, Gise married Miguel Bezos, a Cuban immigrant who had taught himself English. Bezos adopted Jeff, who took his surname. Ted Jorgensen subsequently dropped out of the lives of his son and ex–wife. He was tracked down some 50 years later to the bike shop he owned in Glendale, Arizona. He appeared to have forgotten that he even had a son, couldn't remember his adopted name, and didn't know who Jeff Bezos was anyway. Bezos, for his part, was equally ignorant of the fate of his biological father – claiming in 1999 that he'd never met him.
Jeff Bezos was named as the world's third richest man in Forbes Magazine's 2017 list – after Bill Gates and Warren Buffet – with a net worth of $72.8 billion.
The Washington Post website has a video clip of Jeff Bezos pronouncing his name; it's bay–zose – 'zose' rhyming with 'dose'.
Other information on this window comes from businessinsider.com.
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