Jeff Bezos opted to drive a surprisingly modest car despite possessing billions
- Back in 1994, Jeff Bezos quit his Wall Street job to start Amazon
- Just three years later, Amazon went public and Bezos’ wealth catapulted to over $12 billion
- But despite becoming a billionaire, Bezos still drive a modest car
Published on Dec 13, 2023 at 9:24 PM (UTC+4)
by Adam Gray
Last updated on Dec 14, 2023 at 7:38 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Alessandro Renesis
Jeff Bezos has a staggering fortune.
The chairman and founder of Amazon is the third richest man in the world, worth $170 billion, according to Forbes.
From delivering fresh produce to customers to creating and distributing movies, music and more, Amazon has a lot going on.
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But back in 1994, when a 30-year-old, newly-married Jeff Bezos quit his Wall Street job to start Amazon, the business was pretty simple: it sold books.
Just three years later, Amazon went public and Bezos’ wealth catapulted to over $12 billion, according to Bloomberg.
You wouldn’t have known it by the newly-minted billionaire’s car, though.
Despite his newfound success, Jeff Bezos swapped out his 1987 Chevy Blazer for only a modest upgrade – a Honda Accord.
CBS’s Bob Simon profiled Bezos in 1990 for “60 Minutes”.
The video, which recently resurfaced online, shows the billionaire sporting khakis and a button-down while driving the car.
“What’s with the Honda?” Simon asks Bezos.
“This is a perfectly good car,” Bezos responds after laughing.
Simon also discovered during the interview that Amazon’s then-headquarters in Seattle shared a street address with a pawn shop, a heroin-needle exchange and a “porno parlor.”
Inside, Bezos’ desk was made out of a re-purposed wooden door and two-by-four pieces of wood.
Why so frugal?
“It’s a symbol of spending money on things that matter to customers and not spending money on things that don’t,” Bezos explains to Simon.
This year, Amazon’s revenue rose 13 percent to $143.1 billion in the three months to September 30, clearing expectations on Wall Street.
Profits surged to $9.9 billion, from $2.9 billion a year ago.
Jeff Bezos has some bigger extravagances, like multiple homes, a private jet and a superyacht called ‘Koru’.
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Adam Gray is an experienced freelance motoring journalist and content creator based in the United Kingdom. Using his media accreditation with manufacturers’ press offices, Adam test drives the latest cars and attends new vehicle press launches, producing written reviews and news pieces for a variety of lifestyle and business publications. Here at Supercar Blondie, Adam applies his journalistic skills penning social-first content around current news and trends. When he’s not behind the wheel of the latest car or writing up another viral story, Adam can be found at his local rink playing ice hockey or at the Riverside Stadium supporting his beloved Middlesbrough FC.
