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If any man, woman or child wants an icon to look up to and aspire to be then entrepreneur Jeff Bezos is the man. As the founder of Amazon.com, he is currently amongst the richest men in the world and is easily one of the most successful having survived the dot com bubble bursting at the turn of the millennium. As an entrepreneur, he offers inspiration and the notion that anything is possible if you are determined enough for long enough.

Who Is Jeffrey Preston Bezos?

Jeff P. Bezos was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1964 and had a relatively privileged childhood thanks to his grandfather’s success as a rancher and his stepfather’s engineering expertise, and an education to match. Unlike many successful entrepreneurs that succeeded with no formal education, Bezos had a distinguished educational career. Inspired by his stepfather, Bezos became interested in mechanics and engineering at an early age. In fact, he was mesmerised by the sciences. This carried through to his university days.

He was accepted at Princeton University to study physics but ended up majoring in computer science and electrical engineering. It was there that he began to enter the world of modern communications, including the Internet. Bezos discovered that his passion lay with developing the applications and systems that would later revolutionize his life. As such, he decided to make his fortune doing something that he loved, which is most definitely a quality that should be admired and offer an example to other budding entrepreneurs everywhere.

The Internet Years

Bezos’s career started in earnest as he entered the world of computer science via Wall Street. His first job was as a financial analyst at D.E. Shaw & Co., where he further developed his talent and passion for computer engineering and electronics. He actually built an international trade network during his time in New York, which is an achievement in itself but he still was not satisfied and wanted to become an entrepreneur in his own right.

After leaving New York for Seattle, Bezos founded Amazon.com in 1994. With little money and nowhere to operate the business from, he was forced to operate the company from his garage. Amazon initially stocked books only but then went on to offer CDs, DVDs, video games, electronics, toys and many other ranges. It also went global, with several Amazon sites spread all over the world. The UK, Canada, Germany and several other countries have their own websites. His understanding of what consumers wanted along with his constant expansion of his product range ensured that Amazon.com was initially successful, and his business planning and ability ensured that the company survived when others did not. He had made it as an entrepreneur doing what he loved!

As of 2008, Bezos is worth $8.2 billion. He definitely has entrepreneurial skills that many people today could learn from. For example, he made a living out of what he loved and turned it into a multi-billion dollar company in its own right. He was prepared to start from nothing and work his way up, which many people are not inclined to do. Bezos’s entrepreneurial skills have ensured that he has been extremely successful but no doubt he will not stop there. After all, his vision and core values of ownership, customer service, bias for action, high quality hiring, frugality and innovation will ensure that he can continue to do what he loves and be successful in a number of other arenas.