born Jan. 12, 1964, Albuquerque, N.M., U.S.
U.S. Internet entrepreneur.
Educated at Princeton University, he worked in banking and investment at Bankers Trust and D.E. Shaw & Co. before founding Amazon.com, Inc., in 1995. The Internet company began as a bookseller and later expanded into recorded music, videos, electronic equipment, tools, and other areas, including on-line auctions. Amazon.com became famous for the extraordinary rise in its stock-market valuation despite continued annual losses
a reflection of investor confidence in the future of on-line retailing that marked the late 1990s. The company posted its first quarterly profit in January 2002.