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Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive officer of Amazon, poses as he stands atop a supply truck during a photo opportunity at the premises of a shopping mall in the southern Indian city of Bangalore September 28, 2014.

The Bezos family has a secret fortune from early Amazon investments

$245,573

Mike and Jackie Bezos, the parents of the richest man in the world, might be the most successful investors in history, potentially earning a 12,000,000% return on their original investment into the Amazon empire.

Published   |  Photo by Reuters/Abhishek N. Chinnappa
Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive officer of Amazon, poses as he stands atop a supply truck during a photo opportunity at the premises of a shopping mall in the southern Indian city of Bangalore September 28, 2014.
$245,573

Back in 1995, Amazon got a $245,573 infusion from Jeff Bezos’s parents. Their current stake in the company could be worth as much as $30 billion.

Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive officer of Amazon, poses as he stands atop a supply truck during a photo opportunity at the premises of a shopping mall in the southern Indian city of Bangalore September 28, 2014.
$245,573

That would rank the Bezos duo in the Top 20 of the world’s richest families, far ahead of the Johnson, Hearst, and Ferrero clans.

Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive officer of Amazon, poses as he stands atop a supply truck during a photo opportunity at the premises of a shopping mall in the southern Indian city of Bangalore September 28, 2014.
$245,573

Amazon (AMZN) all-time market capitalization

Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive officer of Amazon, poses as he stands atop a supply truck during a photo opportunity at the premises of a shopping mall in the southern Indian city of Bangalore September 28, 2014.
$245,573

Collectively, Mike and Jackie Bezos may hold a potential 16.6 million Amazon shares—second only to their son, who held over 81 million shares in 2017.

Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive officer of Amazon, poses as he stands atop a supply truck during a photo opportunity at the premises of a shopping mall in the southern Indian city of Bangalore September 28, 2014.
$245,573

They aren’t the only ones raking in Amazon returns: Jeff Bezos’ siblings, Mark and Christina, each bought 30,000 shares for $10,000 in 1996—which would be worth $640 million today.

Jeff Bezos, founder and chief executive officer of Amazon, poses as he stands atop a supply truck during a photo opportunity at the premises of a shopping mall in the southern Indian city of Bangalore September 28, 2014.
$245,573

Amazon’s share price growth has far outpaced the S&P 500 since its IPO

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