Who is Jacklyn Bezos? All About Jeff Bezos’ Mother

Jacklyn Bezos is the mother of Jeff Bezos, one of the world’s richest men and founder of Amazon and the space technology and exploration company Blue Origin. Jacklyn (born in December 1946) is a 77-year-old American entrepreneur and philanthropist.

Being Jeff’s mother seems to have overshadowed Jacklyn, but she has a lot of other achievements to her name that have nothing to do with her son.

Biography Summary of Jacklyn Bezos

  • Full Name: Jacklyn Bezos
  • Nickname: Jackie
  • Gender: Female
  • Date of birth: December 1946
  • Jacklyn Bezos Age: 77 years old
  • Ethnicity: Mexican
  • Nationality: American
  • Sexual Orientation: Straight
  • Marital Status: Married
  • Jacklyn Bezos Husband: Mike Bezos
  • Jacklyn Bezos Children: Jeff Bezos, Christina Bezos, Mark Bezos
  • Jacklyn Bezos Parents: Lawrence Preston Gise (father) and Mattie Louise Strait (mother)
  • Siblings: Lawrence Preston Gise Jr.
  • Jacklyn Bezos Height in Inches: 5 feet 3 inches
  • Famous for: Celebrity mother of Jeff Bezos

Jacklyn Bezos Was Born 77 Years Ago in New Mexico

Although she is an American national, Jacklyn Bezos, otherwise known as Jackie, is of Mexican descent. She was born in New Mexico to her father, Lawrence Preston Gise, and her mother, Mattie Louise Strait.

The family of four has one other member, Lawrence Preston Gise Jr., Jackie’s only brother. Sadly, the union between the parents did not last forever as they later ended their marriage through a divorce.

Timeline of Key Events

Year Event
1946 Jacklyn Gise Jorgensen was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
1960s Married Ted Jorgensen. The couple had a son, Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen (later known as Jeff Bezos), in 1964.
1965 Divorced Ted Jorgensen.
1968 Married Miguel Bezos, a Cuban immigrant, who adopted her son Jeff.
Post-1968 Raised Jeff Bezos with her second husband, Miguel Bezos.
Ongoing Involved in philanthropy with her husband, Miguel Bezos, through the Bezos Family Foundation.

Early Marriage and Pregnancy Changed Jacklyn’s Teenage Life

The celebrity mother did not have the typical teenage life that most other girls had. In 1963, at the young age of 17 years, Jackie already had a home to care for with her husband, Ted Jorgensen, who was 19 at the time. However, this marriage was not one to last forever as Ted’s unbecoming habits forced Jacklyn out of the marriage.

While they were together, Jacklyn had a son whom she was left with the responsibility of catering to by herself. At the time, while she was struggling as a teen mother, she took secretarial classes in the afternoon. She was later recruited as a secretary even though she thought herself to be a terrible typist as she could not make out shorthand writings.

Ted Theodore Jorgensen was Jacklyn Bezos’s Teenage Husband

Ted Jorgensen was Jackie’s first husband, whom she married in her teen years. Their marriage lasted from 1963 to 1965. At the time of their marriage, Jacklyn was 17 years old while he, Ted, was 19 years old. After they had Jeff, their first and only son together, Ted, who probably felt that being a good husband and father was too much of a job for a 19-year-old boy, started engaging in habits unbecoming of a responsible husband and father.

He formed a habit of drinking heavily, and this put quite a strain on their union. Seventeen months after they had their son, Jacklyn chose to leave the marriage with her young son. Their marriage ended through a divorce in 1965, and three years after that, Jackie met and married her second husband, Mike Bezos.

For the good of their son, Jacklyn asked Ted to stay away from her and her new family, which he agreed to do. Ted owned a bike shop in Arizona, but on March 16, 2015, he died without ever physically setting eyes on his son Jeff again.

Motherhood Made Jackie’s Educational Journey a Tough Fight

Although raising a child is a full-time job, especially when one is a single parent, Jackie found a way to combine motherhood with her education. She never let her duties as a mother come in the way of her education.

At the time she had Jeff, the school she attended threatened to make her quit schooling, but she would not hear of it. Unrelentingly, she kept pushing back at the school’s decisions until they finally budged. The school’s compromise, however, did not come without certain conditions. The school told Jackie that to continue at the school, her stay in the school would be shaped by certain conditions.

She Was Segregated from Other Students Because of Her Son

The first condition was that she would always come to school five minutes before the starting bell rings and leave five minutes after the closing bell. Secondly, she was not allowed to talk to other students. Thirdly, she was not allowed to have her lunch in the school cafeteria.

The last condition was that she was not allowed to walk across the stage to collect her Diploma like the rest of her classmates. Determined to continue her education, Jackie was able to continue schooling and even graduate, notwithstanding the very rigorous conditions imposed on her.

Jacklyn Bezos Latter Graduated from College at the Age of 40

After graduating from high school, Jacklyn proceeded with her higher education. Still, with her parental responsibilities, she took Jeff with her to her night classes. She opted for night classes putting into consideration the unavoidability of coming to class with her son.

It was in one of these night classes that she met Mike Bezos, who later became her husband. After she and Mike got married, the young family had to move as a result of a new job that Mike got; this move resulted in Jackie putting her education on hold for quite a long time.

Seeing her children off to college made Jackie’s desire to graduate from college burn even brighter. She went back to school, and more than twenty years after dropping out of school, she graduated from Saint Elizabeth University. She got her first degree at 40 years old.

She said that achieving this longtime dream of hers filled her with so much pride that at the time of her graduation, she felt like she was ten feet tall.

Jacklyn Bezos is Currently Married to Mike Miguel Bezos

Shortly after her marriage to Ted ended, Jacklyn Bezos remarried to her current husband, Mike Bezos, with whom she had two other children: Christina and Mark Bezos. Mike Miguel Bezos is an American entrepreneur and co-founder of the Bezos Family Foundation. He migrated to America from Cuba at the age of 16.

Mike is the second and current husband of Jacklyn Bezos. He and Jackie got married in 1968, shortly after her marriage to her first husband ended. Following their marriage, Mike adopted Jackie’s son Jeff whom he raised as his, as he also began going by his surname. The marriage between Jacklyn and Mike produced two more children: Christina in 1969 and Mark in 1970.

At What Age Did Jacklyn Bezos Have Jeff Bezos?

Jacklyn Bezos gave birth to Jeff Bezos on January 12, 1964, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At the time, she was only 17 years old and still in junior high school. When her marriage to her first husband ended, she was faced with the responsibility of raising her son single-handedly for years until she met her second husband, Mike.

The birth of Jeff Bezos at that time and at such a young age might have been seen as a misfortune by other people. But looking at what has happened so far, looking at who her son Jeff has turned out to be, we can all agree that Jeff’s coming into her life, even at such a tender age, was nothing short of a miracle.

Much of Amazon’s Start-Up Capital Was Raised by Jacklyn and Mike Bezos

Jeff Bezos is very proud of who his mother is and how much she has sacrificed for her family. Speaking before The US Congress in 2020, the multi-billionaire recalled all that his mother had had to go through and give up just to raise him properly. He also attributed a great part of his success to his mother’s investments in him.

Jacklyn and Mike Bezos played a very important role in the success story of Jeff Bezos. Jeff said that most of the capital he used in starting up Amazon was provided by his parents. During the early days of Amazon, Jackie and Mike invested the sum of $300,000 into the business, and from there, Amazon has grown into the great e-commerce organization it is today.

Jacklyn Bezos Net Worth

As of 2022, Jacklyn Bezos’s net worth has not been clearly stated. But when the fact that her son Jeff’s net worth runs up to $180 billion, it is expected that Jackie’s net worth will be up to millions of dollars.

Jacklyn Bezos Has a Total of Three Children – Meet Them

Supermom Jacklyn Bezos has three children from her two marriages. Her first son, Jeff, from her first marriage to Ted, and her two other children, Christina Poore and Mark Bezos, from her marriage to Mike Bezos.

Jeffrey Preston Bezos (Jeff Bezos) is Her First Child

Perhaps one of Jackie’s greatest achievements in life is birthing one of the world’s wealthiest men, Jeff Bezos. Born on January 12, 1964, Jeff is Jackie’s oldest son and a product of her marriage to her first husband, Ted. He was later adopted by Mike Bezos after he married Jeff’s mother.

Jeff Bezos is the founder and Chief Executive Chairman of Amazon, an e-commerce company. He also founded Blue Origins, a space exploration company, and as well owns The Washington Post. With a net worth of $125 billion, Jeff Bezos was named the world’s richest man in 2019, and with a current net worth of over $188 billion, he is considered the world’s second-richest man, preceded only by Elon Musk.

Jeff Bezos got married to his former wife, Mackenzie Scott, in 1993. The seemingly happy marriage, sadly, did not last forever as it came to an end through a divorce in January 2019 with a child named Preston Bezos and three others whose identities are not known.

While still the owner of Amazon, Jeff stepped down as the CEO of the company in 2021, and the position was filled by Andy Jassy, his deputy. After stepping down as the CEO of Amazon, Jeff has put much of his attention into his space exploration company, Blue Origins.

Christina Poore is Jacklyn Bezos’ Only Female Child

Born Christina Bezos, Christina Poore is better known as Jeff Bezos’ younger sister. She is Jacklyn Bezos’ only daughter, her second child, and her first child with her second husband. Born in 1969, the 55 year-old is currently a board director at the family-owned organization, the Bezos Family Foundation, and her husband, Stephen Poore, also sits as one of the organization’s board members.

When placed in comparison with her two brothers, Jeff and Mark, Christina’s profile seems to be a bit on the low side. But her presence has never been found lacking throughout the different stages of her brothers’ life. The great support she showed the two brothers on their recent adventure to space goes to prove this.

Jacklyn Bezos’ Youngest Child is Mark Bezos

Who is Jacklyn Bezos Jeff Bezos' Mother?
Mark Bezos

Born on May 17, 1968, the last of the Bezos siblings, Mark Bezos seems to be quite the life of the gang. He is married to Lisa Rogers Bezos, and together they have four children. The 55 years old has played so many roles in his life. He has been described as a husband, father, entrepreneur, firefighter, as well as a philanthropist who has worked with so many charity Organizations.

Apart from his position as a director in his family’s The Bezos Family Foundation, Mark is also a member of the Robin Hood Foundation and the co-founder of High Post Capital. Previously, Mark has engaged in different start-ups and numerous tech-enabled multimedia companies. He also volunteered as a firefighter in 2005 at the Scarsdale Fire Department in the city of New York.

Much attention was drawn to Mark Bezos in 2021 when his older brother, Jeff Bezos, announced that Mark Bezos, his younger brother, would accompany him to space on July 20, 2021. The two brothers seem to be the closest among the three Bezos children, as Jeff Bezos has in more than one instance, referred to Mark as his Best Friend

Jacklyn Bezos is More Than Jeff Bezos’ Mother

With a profile as rich as this, it would be an unpardonable error to refer to Jacklyn Bezos as the mother of Jeff Bezos because, clearly, she has proven to be much more than that. She is not just a mother but also a wife, an entrepreneur, a philanthropist, and a woman of invincible spirit. She is the true definition of a superwoman.

What Is Jacklyn Doing Now?

Presently, Jackie works as the president of the Bezos Family Foundation, a family-owned charity organization aimed at empowering young people with the education and experience needed to build a bright future. She co-founded the foundation with her husband, Mike Bezos, and all of her children and their partners are board directors in the Organization.

She is also a member of the board of directors for the Robin Hood Foundation, the American Museum of Natural History as well as the Thrive by Five.

FAQs

Who is Jacklyn Bezos?

Jacklyn Bezos is the mother of Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder and one of the richest men in the world. Jacklyn is a philanthropist and entrepreneur who heads the Bezos Family Foundation.

How Old is Jacklyn Bezos?

Jacklyn Bezos is 77 years old in 2024. She was born in December 1946 in New Mexico. She is an American national of Mexican descent.

How Rich are Bezos’ Parents?

Bezos’ parents are worth about $30 billion and this is thanks to the initial investment of $250,000 that they made in their son’s company in 1995. That company, Amazon, has grown to become one of the most valuable in the world, and their investment has multiplied many folds.

What is Jacklyn Bezos’ Net Worth?

Jacklyn Bezos and her husband, Mike Bezos, have a combined net worth of $30 billion, according to a 2018 Bloomberg estimate. In 2022, the couple splashed out $34 million on a Miami mega mansion.

How Much Money Did Jeff Bezos Get From His Parents?

Jeff Bezos got $250,000 from his parents in 1995 to put towards starting his internet bookstore, Amazon. He made it clear to his parents that the business may not succeed, but they nevertheless invested in him and are now reaping the rewards.

What Does Jeff Bezos’ Sister Do?

Jeff Bezos’ sister, Christina is a philanthropist and corporate executive who is one of the board members of the Bezos Family Foundation. As a board member, she helps provide direction for the foundation’s philanthropic activities.

How Many Children Does Jacklyn Bezos Have?

Jacklyn Bezos has three children, namely Jeff Bezos (Born on January 12, 1964), Christina Poore Bezos (born in 1969), and Mark Bezos (Born on May 17, 1968). Jeff Bezos is the product of Jacklyn’s first marriage to Ted Jorgensen while she had Christina and Mark with her present husband, Mike Bezos.

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