Jeff Bezos has said that he plans to give away the majority of his net worth of around USD 124 billion during his lifetime. In a conversation with CNN on 12 November, Bezos said that he will donate to fight climate change and support those working for peace in society.
He was speaking alongside his partner and journalist-turned-philanthropist Lauren Sánchez who co-chairs the Bezos Earth Fund, to which Bezos has committed USD 10 billion over 10 years.
However, neither has Bezos specified a percentage nor has he given clear details to CNN about where the money is going to be spent.
“The hard part is figuring out how to do it in a levered way,” he said.
The world’s fourth-richest man, as per Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index (as of 15 November 2022), Bezos has previously been criticised for not talking about donating his wealth to charity unlike Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. Bezos’s ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, too, has already promised to give her money away.
Best known as the founder of Amazon, Bezos owns the e-commerce behemoth, which started in 1994 from a garage in Seattle.
Besides Amazon, Bezos also owns other businesses. The most notable among them are aerospace company Blue Origin — founded in 2000 — and one of the world’s leading newspapers, The Washington Post, which he bought in 2003 for USD 250 million (about SGD 337 billion).
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Although Bezos doesn’t own swanky cars and has only one private jet, his interest seems to lie in land and buildings. He is one of the biggest private landowners in the US.
From one of the world’s fastest private jets to his many properties, we take a look at some of the things owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos.
Gulfstream G-650ER
The former Amazon CEO definitely has the money to own one of the world’s most luxurious and fastest private jets.
According to Business Insider, Bezos owns a Gulfstream G-650ER through his holding company Poplar Glen. The aircraft reportedly cost him USD 65 million (about SGD 87 million).
Powered by two Rolls-Royce BR725 engines, the Gulfstream G650ER has a top speed of over 1,110 km/h and a range of 13,890 km. Along with Gulfstream G650, the G650ER holds over 110 world speed records and is technically advanced.
The Gulfstream G650ER is the epitome of luxury in the skies. Spacious interiors decked with some of the choicest amenities and handcrafted seats that convert into comfy beds. Between three and four living areas can be configured for seating up to 19 passengers.
‘SpotMini’
On 20 March 2018, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos posted a photo of himself walking with his dog at Amazon’s MARS conference in Palm Springs, California, US. Nothing unusual, right? But it was!
His ‘dog’ was a machine — a four-legged robot known as SpotMini (now renamed Spot), created by prestigious robotics company Boston Dynamics which is owned by Hyundai Motor Group.
Taking my new dog for a walk at the #MARS2018 conference. #BostonDynamics pic.twitter.com/vE6CXrvV3o
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) March 19, 2018
The yellow-painted robot dog is designed for inspections and data capture. According to Boston Dynamics, it can carry up to 14 kg of equipment and can avoid obstacles using a 360-degree perception that maps terrain. It can open doors and even get you a drink.
The robodog is customisable according to mission needs and comes in two models — Spot Explorer and Spot Enterprise.
Clock of the Long Now
On 20 February 2018, Jeff Bezos posted a tweet announcing the start of the construction of the Clock of the Long Now, which some also call Millennium Clock.
Besides the size, the clock is also very unique in terms of functionality and purpose. The giant clock is meant to run for 10,000 years. It will tick only once a year and the cuckoo will come out only once in a millennium. Its chime generator will create a different tune each day.
Installation has begun—500 ft tall, all mechanical, powered by day/night thermal cycles, synchronized at solar noon, a symbol for long-term thinking—the #10000YearClock is coming together thx to the genius of Danny Hillis, Zander Rose & the whole Clock team! Enjoy the video. pic.twitter.com/FYIyaUIbdJ
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) February 20, 2018
The idea of the clock was first proposed by computer scientist and entrepreneur Danny Hillis in the late 1980s. Bezos says he has been helping Hillis for “the last half dozen years.” The Bezos-funded project is being constructed inside the Sierra Diablo mountain range in Texas, US.
House in Beverly Hills
The Wall Street Journal, in February 2020, reported that Jeff Bezos had purchased the Jack Warner Estate from David Geffen for USD 165 million (about SGD 223 million). The sale was a record for LA County. The Spanish-style mansion was built in the 1930s by Jack Warner, the co-founder and one-time president of Warner Bros.
The estate is spread over 3.6 hectares of land. Warner used to throw lavish parties here which were attended by the likes of the who’s who of Hollywood.
After Warner died in 1978, the estate was left to his wife Ann. After she passed away in 1990, Geffen bought the estate the same year for a then-record price of USD 47.5 million (about SGD 64 million).
According to Business Insider, the property has two guest houses and a 13,600-square-foot mansion, which houses eight bedrooms, nine bathrooms and a huge swimming pool.
Lake house in Medina, Washington
Medina is a small, peaceful town on a peninsula of Lake Washington near Seattle. It has the homes of some of the world’s richest people, including Bill Gates, most of whom have mansions on the Evergreen Point Road.
An estate spanning over 2 hectares in Medina is owned by Jeff Bezos. It includes two houses, measuring together at around 29,000 square feet. The property has a boathouse and shoreline of 200 yards. The estate was bought by the Amazon founder in 1998, a year after his company launched its IPO. At the time, Bezos spent USD 10 million (about SGD 13.5 million) for it. In 2010, it underwent renovation costing USD 28 million (about SGD 38 million).
Multiple apartments in New York City
Posh apartments in the Big Apple are among the properties owned by Jeff Bezos.
In June 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported that Bezos had bought three condos, including a penthouse.
Spanning three floors of the 1912 neo-Gothic building at 212 Fifth Avenue near Madison Square Park, New York City, the penthouse reportedly has a private elevator and large terraces.
According to the media house, Jeff Bezos purchased the property for USD 80 million (about SGD 108 million). The three condos combined have 12 bedrooms and measure more than 17,000 square feet.
In 2020, he bought another apartment adjacent to the condos for USD 16 million (about SGD 22 million). Measuring 3,000 square feet, this apartment includes three bedrooms and three and a half baths.
In 2021, the New York Post reported that he had bought another unit in the building for USD 23 million (about SGD 31 million).
A palatial mansion that was once a textile museum
Jeff Bezos owns a house in the Kalorama area of Washington DC, which was once the Textile Museum. He bought the property in 2016 for USD 23 million (about SGD 31 million) and then spent USD 12 million (about SGD 16 million) on its renovation.
The mansion measures 27,000 square feet. According to The Washingtonian, the property has 11 bedrooms, 25 bathrooms, and five living rooms. It also has a ballroom measuring 1,500 square feet.
In January 2020, The Washington Post owner bought a four-bedroom building for USD 5 million (about SGD 6.7 million) across the street to ensure more privacy for the textile museum-turned-house.
Ranch in Texas
The Corn Ranch is Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ biggest property by area. Located in Van Horn, Texas, the ranch was purchased by the billionaire in 2004. It is at the heart of the ambitious space travel missions of Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin.
The massive land measures 66,773 hectares. It sits almost in the middle of nowhere with salt lake beds, desert and flat terrain for miles around.
The Guadalupe Mountains National Park and its world-famous mountaineering hotspot — the 2,464-metre-tall El Capitan — are visible from Bezos’ ranch.
In 2015, the New Shepard rocket of Blue Origin had its maiden flight designed for space travel from here. On 20 July, 2021, Bezos created history when he went to space in a New Shepard rocket launched from the Corn Ranch, with his brother Mark, 82-year-old aviator Wally Funk and 18-year-old Dutch teenager Oliver Daemen.
(Main image credit: Sajjad Hussain/AFP; Featured image credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP)
This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia India.
