Jeff Bezos wasn’t close to his biological father. The retailer founder has spoken fondly about his mother, Jaclyn Gise, but little is known about his father, Ted Jorgenson.
Jaclyn and Ted married in 1964 and were together for 17 months. She gave birth to Jeff when she was 17 years old. Shortly after their marriage dissolved, Jaclyn moved on to marry Miguel Bezos in 1968, who adopted her son and gave Jeff his current surname.
Ted Jorgensen drifted away from his son to the point that he had no clue that his son was a billionaire or the CEO of one of the biggest e-commerce sites to date. “Jorgensen said he didn’t know who Jeff Bezos was and was baffled by my suggestion that he was the father of this famous CEO,” author Brad Stone wrote in his book The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of retailer when he approached the bike shop owner. “The old man’s face flushed with recognition. ‘Is he still alive?’ he asked, not yet fully comprehending.” Ted admitted he “wasn’t a good father or a husband” in his younger days.
Ted confessed that it was the “biggest mistake” to cut off contact with his ex-wife and son in an interview with Inside Edition in 2014. He died in 2015.
Jeff Bezos revealed that he never was in contact with his real father after her mother divorced him. He told Wired in 1999, “I’ve never met him.”
The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of retailer
On Sale 33% off
“But the reality, as far as I’m concerned, is that my Dad is my natural father,” he continued. “The only time I ever think about it, genuinely, is when a doctor asks me to fill out a form. It’s a fine truth to have out there. I’m not embarrassed by it.”
Meanwhile, Jeff had a loving relationship with his parents. Miguel and Jackie were the first investors in retailer, giving $245,000 for the then-book e-commerce site in 1995.
He even credited his step-father to be a “role model” in his life. He spoke of Miguel at the 2022 Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Awards, “I think in every immigrant you’ll find a deep optimism and a deep resilience too. My dad is an intense hard worker. My dad is warm and he teaches an easy smile.” Miguel and Jackie served as founding members of the Bezos Family Foundation.
The Washington Post owner announced the death of his mother on Aug. 14, 2025 weeks after his wedding to Lauren Sánchez. “Her adulthood started a little bit early when she became my mom at the tender age of 17,” the retailer founder wrote in a tribute on social media. “That couldn’t have been easy, but she made it all work. She pounced on the job of loving me with ferocity, brought my amazing dad onto the team a few years later, and then added my sister and brother to her list of people to love, guard, and nourish. For the rest of her life, that list of people to love never stopped growing. She always gave so much more than she ever asked for.”
About the Author
