Bezos' Parents Risked Everything on His Start-Up
When Jeff Bezos first started Amazon in 1995, it was considered a high-risk start-up. At that time, many investors were skeptical about putting money into an online bookseller because there was no established market for buying books over the internet.
In fact, Bezos' own prediction of success at the time was around 30%. He warned his parents that the business could fail and that he didn't want their relationship to suffer if the investment disappeared.
Despite these concerns, Mike and Jackie Bezos invested $245,573 of their savings into their son's company. This was a significant contribution, as it put a large share of their family's savings at risk.
The investment came before Amazon's public listing in 1997, when the business had only a small team and an uncertain future. But Bezos' parents were confident in their son and his vision for the company.
As Amazon grew rapidly, its shares soared more than 208,000% after the IPO. The family's original investment of $245,573 became potentially worth billions of dollars.