[granzymes]

Bezos’ mom had him at 17, his biological father owned a bike shop, and his mother remarried when Bezos was 4 to a Cuban immigrant who came to the country at 16 and ended up working as a petroleum engineer.

They wound up middle class after all that, but I certainly wouldn’t say Bezos came from a “wealthy family”.

[mattm]

Bezos' parents lent him $250k to start Amazon. The point is that by the time Bezos started Amazon they were wealthy and could provide him this safety net. Not many middle class families would be able to loan their kid that much money.

[granzymes]

That $250k was their life’s savings. They made a huge bet on their son.

His mom took night classes while raising him so she could finish her education while working to support a family.

[datavirtue]

Yep, my father, with no business training or college was funded by my grandfather and was in business for years, decades. He ultimately failed without any savings and died in poverty. Being a small business owner was the only job he ever had.

[an0malous]

Bezo’s maternal grandfather worked for the Department of Energy and owned a ranch in Texas. They were wealthy enough to have $300k to give to Jeff in 1993.