- Jeff Bezos’ parents, Jackie and Mike Bezos, invested $245,573 in Amazon in 1995.
- Now their investment could be worth as much as $30 billion, Bloomberg estimates.
- That would be a 12,000,000% return on their investment.
Jeff Bezos isn’t the only astronomically wealthy member of the Bezos family.
In 1995, Bezos was trying to get Amazon off the ground and turned to his mother and stepfather, Jackie and Mike Bezos, for an investment. They complied, investing $245,573 in the company, according to Bloomberg.
At the time, Jeff Bezos warned them there was a 70% chance they’d never see that money again.
Now, as Amazon closes in on becoming the first $1 trillion company, Bezos’ parents have become two of the richest people in the world.
According to Bloomberg's calculations, Bezos' parents could be worth as much as $30 billion, making them richer than the Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, Carl Icahn, Michael Dell, Elon Musk, and Laurene Powell Jobs.
Jeff Bezos is worth about $147 billion, making him the richest person in the world.
According to Bloomberg, Jackie and Mike Bezos haven't publicly disclosed their Amazon holdings since 1999, and it's possible they've offloaded most of their shares over the years. But that's most likely not the case - Bloomberg estimates that Jeff Bezos' parents own 16.6 million shares and that the total return on their investment is as much as 12,000,000%.
Jeff Bezos' siblings, Mark Bezos and Christina Poore, also own shares in Amazon and are most likely worth several hundred million dollars apiece.
Bloomberg has a detailed breakdown of Jackie and Mike Bezos' investment and estimated net worth, so head over there for more.