Tech-billionaire Jeff Bezos became the second billionaire to take a flight to space. He took an 11-minute ride to space in his Blue Origin New Shepard space aircraft on July 20. He was accompanied by his brother Mark, 18-year-old Oliver Daemen, and 82-year-old Wally Funk, a female aviation pioneer.  

Also read: Want to fly on Blue Origin flight? Here are the physical requirements

Who is Jeff Bezos?

American business magnate Jeff Bezos is the founder and executive chairman of Amazon. He previously served as chairman, president and CEO of the company before stepping down in July 2021. He is the world’s richest person with a net worth of $203.7 billion, as per Forbes. 

Bezos founded privately funded aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company Blue Origin in 2000. The company’s New Shepard vehicle reached space and successfully landed back on Earth in 2015. On July 20, 2021, the spacecraft lifted off at 6:30 PM IST (9:12 AM EDT) from a private launch site near Van Horn, Texas. They parachuted back down to the West Texas desert minutes later.

Also read: Dennis Tito, first space tourist, recalls ‘euphoric’ experience

Jeff Bezos, who is now 57 years old, founded Amazon in 1994 and went on to grow it into a colossus that dominates online retail, with operations in streaming music and television, groceries, cloud computing, robotics, artificial intelligence and more.

After stepping down as Amazon’s CEO, Bezos said that he will concentrate on his philanthropic efforts which include his Day One Fund and the Bezos Earth Fund, to which he made a $10 billion donation last year.

Also read: How can you become a space tourist?

“I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring. I’m super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have,” he said.

Bezos had been in the headlines in recent years not only for his business success but also for his 2019 divorce from MacKenzie, his wife of 25 years and an attempt at blackmail which he decided to make public.

The former Amazon CEO was declared the first centibillionaire by Forbes. He was named the “richest man in modern history” after his net worth increased to $150 billion in July 2018.