What is Jeff Bezos’ IQ? Is He the Smartest Person Ever?

Jeff Bezos’ IQ

Experts estimate that Jeff Bezos’ IQ is between 145 and 150.

With the average IQ score ranging from 85 to 115, this level of intelligence would put Bezos in the top 0.1% of the population.

Bezos’ cognitive abilities have undoubtedly played a role in his journey as an entrepreneur, enabling him to build a successful company.

What Makes Jeff Bezos So Smart?

Being smart demands a set of qualities that go beyond cognitive abilities. Without the following qualities, Jeff Bezos may not have become the success he is today.

Willingness to Take Risks

Prior to launching Amazon, Bezos had a stable job working as a Vice President at a hedge fund. He was responsible for researching new online business opportunities and believed books were an ideal product to sell online. However, he could not persuade the hedge fund’s board to support the idea.

So, Bezos took a risk and decided to leave the company to try the idea on his own. In 1994, Bezos launched Amazon.com from his garage, taking most of his meetings at a nearby bookstore.

Creativity

In 1994, traditional brick-and-mortar retail dominated the market. Despite this established norm, Bezos recognized that the internet could change how people shopped.

Beyond simple e-commerce, Bezos introduced personalized recommendations using data analytics to tailor his customers’ product suggestions to their preferences.

Furthermore, Bezos’ idea for 2-day shipping further changed expectations about online shopping. Instead of waiting for weeks, Amazon’s customers promptly received their products. This strategy capitalizes on the nearly instant gratification of buying a product, encouraging people to be less inhibited about making purchases online.

Long-Term Focus

Knowing that he could not build his vision of the e-commerce giant overnight, Bezos took a long-term approach. First, he started with a niche market that he thought would perform well: books. Although he successfully engaged shoppers from all 50 states during the first month of launching, pulling in $20,000 per week, the company wasn’t profitable until 2003.

Even after Amazon turned a profit, the company recorded many net losses over the years. Bezos’ long-term perspective helped him overcome these downturns, as he believed in the long-term viability of his idea.

Is Jeff Bezos the Smartest Person Ever?

Determining if Jeff Bezos holds the title of the smartest person ever involves taking a closer look at what it means to be smart.

IQ can assess a person’s aptitude for problem-solving skills and pattern recognition, but the most intelligent people also possess a well-rounded set of skills. Without this well-rounded skill set, high-IQ individuals may have trouble harnessing their abilities.

While Bezos has both a high IQ and a well-rounded set of skills, he’s not alone in this category. Many other individuals, such as Elon Musk, Leonardo da Vinci, and Marie Curie, have made a significant impact on society by leveraging well-rounded skill sets.

Arguably, the positive impact that these individuals had on society may even surpass Bezos’ contributions to revolutionizing e-commerce.

Is Jeff Bezos the Wealthiest Man in the World?

The list of the world’s wealthiest people is constantly changing as the assets that billionaires manage fluctuate.

Although Jeff Bezos has secured the title of the world’s richest person multiple times, he is currently the 3rd wealthiest person in the world, having approximately $160 billion in assets.

If you consider that the median household net worth is $118,200, that difference is like comparing the weight of one peanut with 1,925 pounds of peanut butter.

With all that wealth, Bezos has collected some pretty amazing assets, including a 416 ft. yacht worth $500 million, a robotic pet dog worth $75,000, The Washington Post, and a giant clock that will run for ten thousand years.

About Jeff Bezos

Early Life

Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen was born on January 12, 164 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At the time, both of his biological parents were teenagers. Ted Jorgensen, his father, struggled with alcohol addiction and was not able to provide a stable life for his family.

The challenges eventually led to the end of Ted and Jacklyn’s marriage. When their baby was just seventeen months old, Jacklyn took him and moved in with her parents.

Although Jacklyn’s school tried to block her from graduating and prevented her from socializing with other students, she was determined to educate herself and her son. Jacklyn eventually earned her high school diploma and enrolled her son at a Montessori school when he was only two years old.

Several years later, Jacklyn married Miguel Bezos, a Cuban who had fled the Communist regime when he was 16. Shortly after the marriage, Miguel adopted Jeffrey, giving him his last name.

The Birth of Amazon

In 1995, Bezos’ parents invested $245,573 in Amazon, which was a considerable risk as it represented a significant portion of their life savings. Adjusted for inflation, this investment would equate to approximately $492,582 in today’s currency.

On July 5, 1994, Bezos launched Cadabra, Inc. from a garage in Washington State but changed the name a few months later to Amazon.com. He had drawn inspiration from the Amazon River, the biggest river in the world. This metaphor aptly captured his ambition to create the biggest online store in the world.

This dream was soon realized, with Amazon selling the world’s largest collection of books only a year later. Several months after that, the company began trading on the NASDAQ at $18 per share. Since then, Amazon has expanded its product offerings and become one of the world’s largest companies.

Beyond Amazon

According to Jeff Bezos, the future of the human race depends on its ability to colonize other planets. He believes this almost religiously, and as a result, has chosen to invest his Amazon earnings in his new company, Blue Origin.

Blue Origin has developed various aerospace technologies, such as the New Shepard, which is a suborbital vehicle aimed at making space travel more accessible. The company’s long-term intention is to support people living and working in space by reducing the associated costs.

Biggest Controversies Surrounding Jeff Bezos

Bezos and his ventures have faced numerous controversies that raise ethical concerns. Many (if not all) of these issues have broad societal implications.

Alexa’s Privacy Concerns

While Amazon argues that the data it collects through Alexa is solely used to build detailed profiles of its users, the always-listening functionality raises legitimate questions about potential misuse.

Users worry that the device might capture and record sensitive conversations, leading to a violation of users’ privacy. For many users, this nagging concern outweighs the convenience that Alexa provides.

Notably, Amazon agreed to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that Alexa violated a children’s privacy law. As part of the settlement, Amazon is obligated to change its practices and communicate those changes to its customers.

Amazon’s Labor Practices

A recent report by the New York Times revealed that Amazon has a widespread pattern of mistreating its employees. The report details how employees were intentionally underpaid even when the company was breaking profitability records.

According to the findings, Amazon took advantage of new parents and employees dealing with medical crises — groups that are least inclined to contest its unfair practices.

Unfortunately, these are not the only issues that have been raised about Amazon’s labor practices. Some key points of concern include working conditions, employee safety, workplace surveillance, and wages.

Amazon has taken steps to address some of these concerns, but critics argue more needs to be done to ensure a healthy and fair work environment.

Workplace Culture at Amazon

Amazon claims that its culture is safe and inclusive. However, multiple employee accounts paint a different picture.

According to numerous employee reports, Amazon’s management encourages workers to criticize others’ ideas and work long, unsustainable hours. One corporate employee even mentioned that they saw almost all of their colleagues cry at some point.

The high-pressure work environment at Amazon, as described by some employees, has led to an unusually high annual turnover rate of 150%. To put this in perspective, that’s double the industry average.

In an attempt to prevent the circulation of unsavory details about Amazon’s workplace culture, the company requires employees to sign robust non-disclosure agreements.

Bezos’ Personal Life

Most notably, Bezos has faced criticism over his high-profile divorce from his ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott. Adding to the controversy, shortly after the couple announced their divorce, reports emerged that Bezos was in a relationship with Lauren Sanchez, who was separated but still married to her husband at the time.

Shortly after, The National Enquirer claimed it had obtained unflattering photos of Bezos that were too explicit to print. Although these photos never surfaced, the narrative gained further intensity when Bezos published emails he had received from the publisher of The National Enquirer, AMI. These emails contained threats to release the explicit photographs unless Bezos complied with their demands. In a surprising move, Bezos published the emails instead of capitulating.

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The image featured at the top of this post is ©Daniel Oberhaus, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.