Miguel Bezos
Miguel Bezos | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1945 or 1946 Santiago de Cuba, Cuba |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Mike Bezos |
| Employer | ExxonMobil |
| Organization(s) | Amazon.com, Bezos Family Foundation |
| Spouse | Jackie Bezos |
| Family | Jeff Bezos (adoptive son) Mark Bezos (son) Christine (daughter) |
Miguel "Mike"[1] Bezos (born in 1945 or 1946 in Cuba) is a Cuban-American billionaire and philanthropist who provided the initial investment to launch Amazon.com. He is a co-founder of the Bezos Family Foundation.
He is the adoptive father of Jeff Bezos, the father of Mark Bezos and the husband of Jackie Bezos.
Early life[edit]
Miguel Bezos was born in 1945 or 1946[2][3] in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba and was brought up with his brother and sister. His father owned a lumber mill and his mother was a part-time shopkeeper, selling fabric and infant clothing. His parents were supporters of Fidel Castro until Castro shifted his political stance towards Marxism–Leninism, seizing the family's lumber business. Bezos' family applied for Miguel to get a refugee visa from the United States.[2] The application was successful and he departed Havana Airport for Miami on July 21,[2] 1962, aged sixteen.[3]
Upon arrival in the United States, Bezos was housed at Camp Matecumbe along with about 400 other Cuban refugee children.[2] Three weeks later,[1] Bezos and his cousin Ángel were relocated to attend a high school at Salesianum School in Wilmington, Delaware, and he lived in housing provided by a Catholic religious order, The Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales.[2]
Adult life[edit]
Bezos graduated from high school at the age of 17 and relocated to Washington, D.C. He was awarded a funded scholarship at the University of Albuquerque in New Mexico where he studied physics and mathematics. He initially majored in mechanical engineering, but he switched and graduated with a degree in computer science.[2] While studying, he met Jackie Gise at night school, later marrying her.[4] Gise was the mother of Jeff Bezos who Miguel later adopted, with the approval of Ted Jorgensen, Jeff's biological father.[5] Miguel Bezos graduated university in the fall of 1968, and took a job at Exxon,[2] in Houston, Texas.[4] In Houston, Jackie and Miguel had two more children, a daughter Christina and a son Mark Bezos.[6] Bezos remained working for Exxon for 32 years.[3]
In 1995, Jacklyn and Miguel gave Jeff a loan of US$245,573 to start Amazon.com,[7] leaving them both with 6% equity.[8] Bezos and his wife Jackie are co-founders of,[2] and major donors to, the Bezos Family Foundation.[9] Through the foundation, they donated $710.5 million to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center.[10] They have relocated from Texas to Florida.[4]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Clifford, Catherine (2019-05-16). "Jeff Bezos says dad emigrated from Cuba alone at 16: 'His grit, determination, optimism are inspiring'". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2022-10-12. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Miguel Bezos". National Museum of American History. 2017-03-16. Archived from the original on 2020-12-24. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ a b c Robinson, Circles (2023-01-15). "One Brave Cuban Boy and Amazon". Havana Times. Archived from the original on 2023-02-06. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ a b c Lipchik, Saul (2022-08-16). "Meet Jeff Bezos' billionaire parents, Jacklyn and Miguel 'Mike' Bezos". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2023-06-01. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ Barr, Alistair (October 10, 2013). "Bike shop owner discovers he's father of Amazon founder". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
- ^ "Meet Mark Bezos, accompanying big bro Jeff Bezos on his upcoming space flight". South China Morning Post. 2021-06-13. Archived from the original on 2023-03-22. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ Mejia, Zameena (2018-08-02). "Jeff Bezos got his parents to invest nearly $250,000 in Amazon in 1995 — they might be worth $30 billion today". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2023-05-22. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ Neate, Rupert (2018-04-25). "Jeff Bezos: the boy who wanted to colonise space". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2023-05-24. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ Metcalf, Tom (2018-07-31). "A hidden Amazon fortune: Bezos' parents could be worth billions - BNN Bloomberg". BNN Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2023-07-01.
- ^ Mustak, Dayana (2022-10-12). "Bezos Family to Donate $711 Million to Cancer Center in Seattle". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 2023-07-01. Retrieved 2023-07-01.