Jeff Bezos pays a heartfelt tribute to his mother, a fierce protector and a “deep-pocketed advocate” for early childhood education who was a foundational force behind Amazon’s success.
August 15, 2025: Jackie Bezos, the mother of Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, and an important part of the company’s history, has died at the age of 78. Jeff Bezos tweeted a message on social media that said she died on Thursday at her home in Miami after a long fight with Lewy body dementia, which she was diagnosed with in 2020.
Jeff Bezos stated in his poignant essay, “Her adulthood began a little early when she became my mom at the young age of 17.” It must have been hard, but she made it all work. She jumped at the chance to love me with all her might…” He said that she died “surrounded by so many of us who loved her—her kids, grandkids, and my dad.”
Jackie Bezos and her husband Miguel “Mike” Bezos were the first people to put money into Amazon. They wrote two checks for a total of $245,573 in 1995. Jeff Bezos himself had cautioned that this first investment would fail, yet it eventually blossomed into a fortune worth billions of dollars, making her and her husband famous in Amazon’s history.
Jackie and Mike Bezos started the Bezos Family Foundation in 2000, long before Amazon started its own big charitable projects. Under her leadership, the foundation became a strong supporter of early childhood education. It started projects including Vroom, a parenting app, and the Bezos Scholars Program, which teaches future leaders from the U.S. and Africa. She and her husband also gave a lot of money to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, including a $710 million bequest in 2022.
She was born Jacklyn Marie Gise in Virginia and was renowned for being tough and determined. She became a single teenage mother, yet she still finished high school and went to college while working. Later, she met and married Miguel Bezos, a Cuban exile who adopted her son. Together, they formed a family and a legacy that helped make one of the most powerful companies in the world.