Jeff Bezos - the richest man in the world: Unprecedented billionaire model
(Baonghean) - Jeff Bezos, the world's richest man according to Forbes, is changing the way people think about getting rich. He pursues a goal and vision that the world has yet to catch up with.
Unconventional Greatness
Over the past few years, researchers in the US have had to admit that Jeffrey Bezos, founder and CEO of the online sales site Amazon, deserves to be in the “Pantheon” of American business tycoons. But what position does he fit in the list of titans of the business world, who have left indelible legacies in history? Andrew Carnegie is remembered for his steel furnaces that formed the “skeleton” for the railway system and cities in the US. John D. Rockefeller provided up to 90% of the gasoline for Americans, back when electric power was still very far away. Bill Gates, a contemporary historical figure, also left behind computer programs - which are considered a prerequisite for computers to take over.
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| Jeff Bezos - the boss of online sales channel Amazon has redefined the concept of billionaire. Photo: Fortune |
At 55, Jeff Bezos has never dominated any business sector, nor is his product a monopoly like his predecessors. And even sitting on the "throne" of the world's richest man at the moment, Bezos probably doesn't have as much wealth as Bill Gates did at his peak. Rockefeller asserted himself with oil fields, gas stations, or fuel tank cars. Bill Gates's assets are tied to the Windows operating system. Meanwhile, the greatness of Jeff Bezos' empire is much larger. Obviously, what he created has no precedent in the history of American capitalism.
Jeff Bezos and his Amazon now control nearly 40% of all e-commerce transactions in the US. More product searches are conducted on Amazon than on Google, allowing Bezos to build an advertising business platform as valuable as IBM. Some have estimated that Amazon Web Services accounts for half of the cloud computing industry. Many other big names such as General Electric, Unilever, and even the CIA rely on Amazon's server system. 42% of the book market value and 1/3 of the online video market are also in the hands of this giant. So what makes Amazon explode?
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| Online retailer Amazon. Photo: RT |
First of all, it is thanks to Jeff Bezos' vision.
Since 2014, Bezos’s Amazon has only grown and expanded. Amazon’s success has made it a concern for the US government, but for the people of the land of the Stars and Stripes, Bezos is a friendly “wizard” with too many utilities and fun in his pocket. Amazon attracts the attention of potential homebuyers with real estate agents, and connects their homes to its devices.
Amazon is also ready with a 30-acre cargo airport on the outskirts of Cincinnati to help get goods to customers quickly and accurately. American customers will also be satisfied with Major League Baseball games broadcast live on Amazon-branded television devices. And if you travel to remote areas without cell phone signal, more than 3,000 Amazon satellites in orbit will help maintain high-speed internet connection.
Bezos-style philanthropy
In both his work and his life, Jeff Bezos loves to use the word “relentless.” It appears time and again in Amazon’s annual reports to shareholders. Many assume that this is because Bezos and Amazon are always aiming for dominance for its own sake. In an era that celebrates megacorporations, Jeff Bezos has never wavered from his determination to be the biggest of them all. But to say that Bezos’s ultimate goal is planetary domination is to misread the man. His ambition is not bound by Earth’s gravity.
Before deciding to pursue Amazon.com as a career, Jeff Bezos jokingly named a retail store project MakeItSo.com. This pun was meant to be self-ironic, as Bezos had never maintained enthusiasm for any work for too long. But some have suggested that the catchy name was a catchphrase of an idol Bezos admired: the captain of the starship USS Enterprise-D, Jean-Luc Picard. He admired space in the same way he was fascinated by the Star Trek series, which spoke of humanity's desire to enter the cosmos.
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The American press once approached Jeff Bezos' ex-girlfriend from high school. She revealed the real reason Bezos sought space: "The reason he makes so much money is to go to space." This does not require much imagination. As the valedictorian of Miami Palmetto High School in 1982, Bezos used his graduation speech to open up a vision for humanity. He dreamed of a day when millions of Earth's inhabitants would migrate to new lands in space. One newspaper called Bezos' intention "to take everyone off the Earth and see it turned into a giant national park."
Most people eventually give up their teenage dreams, but Jeff Bezos continues to pursue his youthful ambitions. Critics have chided him for being stingy with his philanthropy, despite being the world’s richest person. But Bezos says his greatest contribution to humanity is not his consistent giving.
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| Billionaire Jeff Bezos spends billions of dollars on aerospace technology development projects through Blue Origin Company. Photo: space.com |
Bezos funds a company called Blue Origin, which he made in high school as a prophecy. The company, which builds rockets, planes, and space travel infrastructure, is funded by selling $1 billion in Amazon stock each year, on top of his massive ownership stake in Amazon. He has also pledged more than $2 billion to nonprofits that help the homeless and provide educational opportunities for low-income Americans. Bezos calls Blue Origin his most important work.