Everyone has a dream as a child. For most people, they will eventually give up this dream. But Bezos is different. He seems to have been trying to approach his childhood dream. After building Amazon into one of America's leading business empires, the 57-year-old Bezos chose to resign as CEO of Amazon.
Bezos
Amazon's fourth-quarter earnings report released on February 3 showed a large number of brilliant data, followed by Bezos' open letter. In the letter, Bezos stated that he has never been so energetic because he will have more time and energy to focus on Bezos Earth Fund and Blue Origin. He firmly believes that these things can have a huge impact.
At the end of the open letter, Bezos wrote: "Keep innovating, and don't despair when an idea looks crazy at first." This sentence is also useful when used on another "madman" Musk.
This article of the author will trace Bezos' childhood and entrepreneurial life, and compare it with Musk, which may bring you closer to the real Bezos.
Bezos: From entrepreneurial youth to the world's richest man
Bezos' childhood was lucky. Bezos' grandfather cultivated his interest in science when he was young when he aspired to become an astronaut or physicist. In high school, Bezos showed his talent as an entrepreneur. He established the "Dream" Association, organized summer activities to develop students' innovative thinking, and even encouraged his sister and brother to join in. In college, Bezos's interest turned to computers.
After graduating from university, Bezos worked hard on Wall Street for a long time. At this time, he was still a "workman". During this period, Bezos worked for a New York Bankers Trust Company, managing a computer system worth $250 billion in assets. Surprisingly, he made a blockbuster at the age of 25, becoming the youngest vice president in the company's history.
The United States in the 1990s was an era of the rapid development of computers and the Internet, and various Internet companies have sprung up like mushrooms. At this time, Bezos was doing a high-paying job on Wall Street. After seeing the rise of e-books on the Internet, he saw business opportunities, so he resolutely embarked on the road of entrepreneurship.
In the early days of Amazon's establishment, Bezos did not show the determination to do a lot. Unlike those Internet companies with the slogan of "don't be afraid of losses, bigger and stronger", Bezos's business strategy was too conservative and slow at this time so that shareholders were labeled "conservative".
Amazon
With the bursting of the Internet bubble at the turn of the century, a large number of Internet companies were hit. At this time, Bezos showed a "radical" side. In 1998, in a letter to shareholders, Bezos repeatedly mentioned "boldness", saying that Amazon will make decisions based on long-term goals and encourage free cash flow and market share to increase, instead of focusing on short-term benefits. on.
Few big bosses face polarized evaluations like Bezos. Whether it is business strategy or character, Bezos has two completely different sides. "Forbes" magazine once called Bezos "a good man by nature", and "Fortune," said that he was "so humble and not a little wary." In public, Bezos seems to be very close.
But in the book "Catch It All: The Age of Bezos and Amazon", some employees think that Bezos is terribly cold, saying that Bezos regards them as a resource that can be consumed and never considers their contributions. Other subordinates saw Bezos's cautious side: He loves to meditate alone and keeps the details of some of the company's plans secret.
In 2018, Bezos ascended to the position of the richest man and has been stable in this position for many years. But according to Forbes data, from January 20, 2017, to January 19, 2021, Musk’s wealth surged by more than $170 billion, becoming the person with the largest wealth increase during this period.
Bezos may be more "crazy" than Musk
To understand Bezos, it may be easier to start by understanding Musk.
The grudge between Bezos and Musk has a long history, and the most recent conflict between the two sides occurred last month. At that time, Amazon issued a statement that it hoped that the regulatory authorities would no longer approve the space exploration technology company's application to adjust the orbital height of its "Starlink" satellite, which meant a lot for SpaceX.
Musk
Musk then tweeted angrily, saying that Amazon was obstructing the "Starlink" plan. He wrote sarcastically: “It is not in the public interest to obstruct the Starlink for an Amazon satellite system that has to wait several years to be put into operation.”
When comparing the childhood lives of the two, the author found that the childhood lives of Bezos and Musk are very similar. Putting aside the relationship between competitors, Bezos and Musk may become friends.
When American astronaut Armstrong landed on the moon, 5-year-old Bezos witnessed this historic moment on TV, from which the seeds of space exploration were planted. And the young Musk, like Bezos, has a pure dream of space.
More interestingly, the two are obsessed with two space science fiction movies: "Star Wars" and "Star Trek." Musk prefers the former's "swords and shadows", while Bezos prefers the latter's technology and exploration.
Now, Bezos is approaching his space dream step by step through Blue Origin. The author has noticed that Bezos always expresses a special emotion when talking about the origin of blue in public. If you have to describe this kind of emotion, "Hope your child will become a dragon" may be more appropriate. Bezos once even publicly admitted that the existence of Amazon is to some extent for the space dream of his youth to continue.
Bezos and his blue origin
At the same time, the 7-year-old Musk, Bezos, is also moving towards his space dream, and his steps are bigger than Bezos. Musk had a grand plan, hoping to build 1,000 starships in the next 10 years and send 1 million people to Mars by 2050. And Bezos is still working hard for the first launch of the New Glenn rocket this year.
Compared with Musk's aggressive publicity, Bezos's calm and restrained seems to be more disturbing. He rarely reveals his intentions in public, and likes to repeat the so-called unrevealed anecdotes over and over again; in his annual letter to shareholders, the word "relentless" appears over and over again; To have a steely physique, he trained himself into a bald head. It is said that the reason Bezos exercises so hard is that one day he can fly to space.
Perhaps, we never really understood Bezos. A person who planted a dream of space as a child and then walked alone in the long middle age may be more "crazy" than Musk.
Write at the end
After Bezos retires as Amazon CEO, the challenge may be even greater. SpaceX currently led by Musk has the first-mover advantage, and the "Falcon Heavy" rocket has begun to take a large number of orders. More importantly, the SpaceX team has accumulated a lot of technology in reducing rocket costs, and the team is still looking for cheaper and economical materials for the rocket body. Now, what Bezos needs to do is to close the gap with SpaceX.