In the mid-1990s, a $10,000 investment in a fledgling online bookstore sounded risky, but for Mark and Christina, siblings of founder Jeff Bezos, the decision could have been bringing them to billionaire status.
A Bloomberg report revealed that in 1996, they each bought 30,000 shares of Amazon.com for $10,000. Since then, this investment has grown exponentially. At the current stock price, the return on this investment is approximately 10,249,900%, a figure that would put even the most reputable venture capitalist to shame.
According to an article by Luxury Launches, referencing a July 2018 Bloomberg report, the shares held by Jeff Bezos’ siblings are worth $640 million each, based on Amazon’s closing price of 91 USD at that time. Currently, with the tech giant’s stock price at $149 per share, its stake is now worth the equivalent of $1 billion.
After realizing the emerging potential of e-commerce, billionaire Jeff Bezos embarked on an ambitious venture by founding Amazon in July 1994. This was a time when the Internet was mainly used by governments and educational institutions. Despite these limitations, Bezos remained undeterred, determined to pursue his vision, seeing the broader possibilities that the Internet could offer.
Convincing investors, including his family, of the business project’s potential despite the high risk of failure was a huge and extremely difficult task.
Mr. Bezos once warned his parents that there was a 70% chance they would lose everything. According to the book “The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon,” he said: “I wanted them to know what the risks were because I wanted to still be able to go home for Thanksgiving if it didn’t happen.” not working effectively”.
In 1994, Bezos reportedly held 60 meetings with family members, friends, and potential investors to convince them to invest in his online bookstore idea. Of the 60 people Bezos approached, 38 declined to invest.
The journey to success of e-commerce tycoon Amazon is full of challenges. Amazon went public on May 15, 1997, at $18 per share, weathering the turmoil of the dot-com bubble. However, under Bezos’ leadership, the company not only survived but flourished, expanding beyond online retail and reaching a market capitalization equivalent to $1.5 trillion.
Mark and Christina Bezos, although less publicized in the media, still play an indispensable role in Amazon’s success story.
Up to now, Mark Bezos has built a successful career in advertising and philanthropy. Meanwhile, Christina Bezos maintains a low-key presence, focusing on philanthropic efforts and family.
The Bezos siblings’ journey with Amazon, from high-risk investments to billions in profits, underscores the power of visionary entrepreneurship and the potential of the tech economy number.
Their story, anchored in the rise of one of the world’s most influential companies, highlights the far-reaching impact of strategic risk-taking in the fast-paced world of technology and commerce. quickly.
The story of the Bezos siblings and their investment in Amazon is not just a story of financial returns. It’s an example of the potential of startups. Their success is a reminder that investing in a startup, while risky, can lead to extraordinary results.
Successful people spotted opportunity in visionary ideas and had the courage to back them, even when the future seemed uncertain. Imagine being part of something that started small but grew into a global phenomenon. From a small online bookstore, today Amazon has become a technology “giant” with an unbelievable scale.
