Miguel Ángel "Mike" Bezos Pérez (born ) is a Cuban-American billionaire and philanthropist who provided the initial investment to launch

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econom ...

. He is a co-founder of the Bezos Family Foundation. He is the adoptive father of

Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ''né'' Jorgensen; born January 12, 1964) is an American entrepreneur, media proprietor, investor, and commercial astronaut. He is the founder, executive chairman, and former preside ...

, the father of

Mark Bezos Mark Bezos ( ) (born 1967) is an American space tourist and former advertising executive. He is the half-brother of Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, with whom he flew to the edge of space as part of the Blue Origin NS-16 mission on July 20, ...

and the husband of

Jackie Bezos Jacklyn Bezos (née Gise, formerly Jorgensen; born December 29, 1946) is an American billionaire and philanthropist who provided the initial investment to launch Amazon.com. She is a co-founder of the Bezos Family Foundation. She is the mother o ...

Early life

Miguel Ángel Bezos was born in in

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains ...

, Cuba and was brought up with his brother and sister. His father, originally from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, owned a

lumber mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

and his mother was a part-time shopkeeper, selling fabric and infant clothing. His parents were supporters of

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 2 ...

until Castro shifted his political stance towards

Marxism–Leninism Marxism–Leninism is a List of communist ideologies, communist ideology which was the main communist movement throughout the 20th century. Developed by the Bolsheviks, it was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, its Soviet satellite state ...

, seizing the family's lumber business. Bezos' family applied for Miguel to get a refugee visa from the United States. The application was successful and he departed

Havana Airport Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

for

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

on July 21, 1962, aged sixteen. Upon arrival in the United States, Bezos was housed at Camp Matecumbe along with about 400 other Cuban refugee children. Three weeks later, Bezos and his cousin Ángel were relocated to attend a high school at

Salesianum School Salesianum School is a Catholic independent school for boys located in Wilmington, Delaware. It is run independently within the Diocese of Wilmington and is operated by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. The current enrollment is about 930 s ...

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christin ...

, and he lived in housing provided by a Catholic religious order, The Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales.

Adult life

Bezos graduated from high school at the age of 17 and briefly relocated to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He was awarded a funded scholarship at the

University of Albuquerque The University of Albuquerque was a Catholic liberal arts university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which opened in 1920 and closed in 1986. Its former campus on Albuquerque's West Side now houses St. Pius X High School. History The institution wa ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

, he initially majored in

Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, ...

, but he switched his major and graduated with a degree in

Computer Science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includin ...

. While studying, he met Jackie Gise at night school, later marrying her. Gise was the mother of

whom Miguel later adopted, with the approval of Ted Jorgensen, Jeff's biological father. Miguel Bezos graduated university in the fall of 1968, and took a job at

Exxon ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November ...

, in Houston, Texas. In Houston, Jackie and Miguel had two more children, a daughter Christina and a son

. Bezos remained working for Exxon for 32 years. In 1995, Jacklyn and Miguel gave Jeff a loan of US$245,573 to start

, leaving them both with 6% equity. Bezos and his wife Jackie are co-founders of, and major donors to, the Bezos Family Foundation. Through the foundation, they donated $710.5 million to the

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, formerly known as the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and also known as Fred Hutch or The Hutch, is a cancer research institute established in 1975 in Seattle, Washington. History The center grew out ...

. They have relocated from Texas to Florida.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bezos, Miguel Bezos family American billionaires Cuban refugees Cuban emigrants to the United States ExxonMobil people University of Albuquerque alumni People from Santiago de Cuba Living people 1940s births

Early life

Adult life

See also

References