Jeff Bezos's biological father abandoned him, and 47 years later he learned that his son became a billionaire

The biological father of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos did not know for a long time that his son was a billionaire. He died without speaking to him, reports Yahoo.

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Behind the public persona of one of the richest people on the planet, Jeff Bezos, lies a lesser-known story about his father.

Bezos never knew his biological father, a humble Arizona bike shop owner named Ted Jorgensen.

Who was Bezos' father

For most of his life, Jorgensen had no idea that Bezos was his son. Their paths diverged when Bezos was only a year old, and his mother Jackie left Jorgensen with him. Jorgensen, who was 18 at the time, was married to Jackie for some time.

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Jorgensen grew up in a small town in Arizona. He was a talented athlete and excelled in unicycle hockey. He also had a passion for bicycles and opened a bicycle shop in Glendale, Arizona. Jorgensen was said to be a kind and generous man and was loved by his clients and friends.

Bezos was raised by his mother and her second husband, Miguel Bezos. Miguel was a Cuban immigrant who came to the United States with nothing. He worked hard to provide a successful life for himself and his family. Jeff said Miguel was a great father to him and that he learned a lot from him. Miguel and Jackie even lent Jeff the money he needed to start Amazon.

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In a 1999 interview, Jeff Bezos stated that he "never met" his biological father. He later admitted that he spent the first year of his life living with Jorgensen.

Lost connection

In 2012, Brad Stone, author of The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and Amazon, tracked down Jorgensen at a small bicycle repair shop in Arizona. Jorgensen didn't follow his son's meteoric career and didn't even know Bezos was his son.

The truth came as a big shock to Jorgensen, who had spent decades speculating about Bezos' life and well-being. Jorgensen's eyes reportedly filled with tears and disbelief when he saw photographs of his son. He openly expressed regret that he was not the father and husband he wanted to be. According to Stone's book, he said, "I was neither a good father nor a good husband."

Then Jorgensen said that he plans to restore contacts with the Bezos family. He explained that Bezos was his only child and had not seen him since he was in diapers. Despite being one of the richest people in the world, Bezos stressed that he wants nothing more than a father-son relationship.

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Months later, Jorgensen admitted in an interview that he did not expect Bezos to express any willingness to communicate. “I don’t think he’ll come to me now. I didn't hear a word from him, there was no sign that he wanted to contact me. I was hoping that with the publicity this might happen, but I can't blame him. I guess I wasn’t a very good father,” he said.

Despite Jorgensen's public requests to establish contact, the long-awaited meeting between father and son never took place. Jorgensen died in 2015 at age 70, bearing the heavy burden of never speaking to his only son.

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