Mark Bezos
Bornc. 1967 (age 56–57)
EducationTexas Christian University
OccupationAdvertising executive
SpouseLisa Bezos
Children4
RelativesMiguel Bezos (father)
Jackie Bezos (mother)
Jeff Bezos (half-brother)
George Strait (cousin)
Space career
Commercial Astronaut
Flight time
10m 18s
SelectionBlue Origin
MissionsNS-16

Marcus Jim "Mark" Bezos (/ˈbeɪzoʊs/ BAY-zohss;[1] born c. 1967) is an American space tourist and former advertising executive. He is the half-brother of Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon,[2] with whom he flew to the edge of space as part of the Blue Origin NS-16 mission on July 20, 2021.

Early life

Mark was born to parents Jackie and Miguel Bezos and has an older sister, Christine.[3] He is 3 years younger than his half-brother Jeff.[4] Mark grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Houston, Texas; and Pensacola, Florida. He finished high school in Norway.[5] He graduated from Texas Christian University in 1992.[5]

Career

After graduation, he worked in the advertising industry, including positions at Saatchi & Saatchi and DDB.[6] His own agency Bezos–Nathonson, founded in 1999,[6] was bought by EastWest Creative in 2005.[7] From 2006 to 2016 he was head of communications at the Robin Hood Foundation,[8] earning $140,000 to $240,000 per year as Robin Hood's communications director, which is supported by his brother and other members of his family.[9] He founded a private equity firm in 2019.[10]

As of July 2021, he is a director of the Bezos Family Foundation.[8] He owns an unknown stake in his brother's company Amazon; $10,000 of shares he bought in 1996 were estimated to be worth $640 million in 2018.[11]

Personal life

He is married with four children and lives in Scarsdale, New York, where he is also a volunteer firefighter.[8]

Spaceflight

On July 20, 2021, he flew to the edge of space alongside his brother Jeff, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen, aboard the Blue Origin NS-16 flight.[12] The suborbital flight lasted over 10 minutes, reaching a peak altitude of 66.5 miles (107.0 km).[13][14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Jeff Bezos pronounces his name". The Washington Post. 2009. Archived from the original on January 10, 2019. Retrieved August 17, 2013.; and Robinson (2010), p. 7.
  2. ^ de Jonge, Peter (March 14, 1999). "Riding the Wild, Perilous Waters of Amazon.com". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  3. ^ "Meet Mark Bezos, accompanying big bro Jeff Bezos on his upcoming space flight". South China Morning Post. June 13, 2021. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  4. ^ Bayers, Chip (March 1, 1999). "The Inner Jeff Bezos". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Hartmans, Avery (July 20, 2021). "Meet Mark Bezos, the younger brother of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos who just joined him aboard Blue Origin's first human space flight". Business Insider. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Lacy, Lisa (June 7, 2021). "Former Ad Exec to Join Billionaire Brother in Space". AdWeek.
  7. ^ Elliott, Stuart (October 27, 2005). "EastWest Creative Acquires an Agency". The New York Times.
  8. ^ a b c Hall, Louise (July 20, 2021). "Who is Mark Bezos? Meet the younger brother of Jeff Bezos who will accompany him to space". Independent. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  9. ^ Friedman, Roger (May 13, 2020). "Robin Hood Foundation: Paid Six Figure Salary to Jeff Bezos's Brother for Years, Gave Ex CEO $1.7 Million Exit Package". Showbiz411. Mark Bezos was listed as their communications director. His salary was around $140,000 in 2013 and 2014, and then jumped up to $240,000 for 2015 and 2016. It's possible Mark Bezos earned around a million bucks in salary from the Robin Hood Foundation
  10. ^ Sloley, Chris (March 24, 2021). "Azimut takes stake in private equity group led by Jeff Bezos's brother". Citywire Selector. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  11. ^ Metcalf, Tom (July 31, 2018). "A hidden Amazon fortune: Bezos' parents could be worth billions". Bloomberg.
  12. ^ "Jeff Bezos and brother to fly to space in Blue Origin flight". BBC News. June 7, 2021.
  13. ^ Davenport, Christian; Brown, Dalvin (July 20, 2021). "Jeff Bezos, Mark Bezos, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen reach edge of space, return safely on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket". Washington Post.
  14. ^ Chow, Denise (July 20, 2021). "Amazon's Jeff Bezos makes history with all-civilian suborbital flight". NBC News. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
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