The mother of one of the most powerful men in the world has died.
Jackie Bezos died at the age of 78 after a long battle with dementia.
She and her husband were among the first investors in the startup launched by her son, Jeff.
The couple invested about $245,000 in a small online bookstore in 1995, The New York Times reported. That bookstore exploded into the online juggernaut, Amazon.
The company is now worth nearly $2.5 trillion.
Jeff Bezos used Jackie’s online wish list at a trade show demonstration to show how easy it was to order gifts on his platform. The New York Times noted that some items she wanted were a Casio camera and Motorola walkie-talkies.
Jackie Bezos was born in Washington, D.C., in 1946 but was raised in Albuquerque.
Jeff Bezos was born there when she was only 17.
“Being pregnant in high school was not popular in Albuquerque in 1964. It was difficult for her,” Jeff Bezos said in 2020. He said that her high school tried to kick her out, but allowed her to continue her education after coming to an agreement with her father. While she graduated, she was not allowed to go on stage to receive her diploma.
She took classes at night school while she worked at a bank. Jackie Bezos took her young son with her to class, specifically picking professors who would allow her to do that.
During that time, she met her second husband, Miguel Bezos, a Cuban immigrant. The couple were together for almost 60 years and were married until her death. They had two children and Miguel Bezos adopted Jeff.
At the age of 45, Jackie Bezos returned to college, attending New Jersey’s Saint Elizabeth University and earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
She was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia in 2024, according to the Bezos Family Foundation, a charity she and her husband founded in 2000 to provide educational grants. She served as president of the organization.
Jackie Bezos died at home in Miami on Aug. 14, Bloomberg reported.
Jackie Bezos leaves behind her husband, three children, 11 grandchildren and a great-grandchild, the foundation said.
Jeff Bezos posted a tribute to his mother on social media, writing, "Her adulthood started a little bit early when she became my mom at the tender age of 17. That couldn’t have been easy, but she made it all work."