The Truth About Jeff Bezos’ IQ Score, Early Life, Career, & More

Jeff Bezos’ IQ score has been a topic of much speculation as the billionaire’s empire grew over the years. There’s no doubt that he is intelligent, but both his critics and fans wonder if the Amazon founder could actually be a genius.

Our experts examined Bezos’ early life, education, and numerous endeavors and accomplishments over the years in an attempt to uncover the answer. In this article, we will share their findings with you.

Let’s dive in.

Key Takeaways

• Jeff Bezos’ IQ is estimated to be in the 145–150 range, which would make him a genius.
• From an early age, Jeff Bezos exhibited giftedness, which placed him in a program for talented students in high school.
• Jeff Bezos has numerous ventures, but Amazon is undoubtedly the most lucrative and well-known.
• Aside from intelligence, Jeff Bezos possesses the persistence, confidence, and problem-solving skills necessary to become successful.

What Is Jeff Bezos’ IQ?

Jeff Bezos’ IQ is considered to be in the range between 145 and 150. Since scores above 145 indicate a highly advanced intellect, the founder of Amazon is most likely a genius.

However, it’s important to note that Jeff Bezos never officially took an IQ test, or if he did, he never shared the results with the public. Therefore, the abovementioned IQ score is only an expert estimate based on his life and accomplishments.

Considering the scope of Jeff Bezos’ achievements, though, this estimate may not be off the mark. If it’s accurate, Jeff Bezos’ intelligence is comparable to Albert Einstein’s and Stephen Hawking’s IQ, as both of these brilliant scientists have an estimated score of around 160.

Thanks to his genius IQ, Jeff Bezos has unique foresight that allows him to understand which decisions would maximize his success. As a result, he is more likely to take the necessary risks and follow unexpected paths to achieve the outcome he is hoping for.

Jeff Bezos: Early Life & Education

Jeff Bezos, originally Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen, was born in 1964 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Jacklyn and Ted Jorgensen. However, his parents’ marriage didn’t last, and only four years after Jeff’s birth, his mother remarried, and he adopted his stepfather’s last name, Bezos.

Soon after, the Bezos family moved to Houston, Texas, where Jeff attended River Oaks Elementary School. He was known as an inquisitive child with scientific inclinations who showed his talents as early as sixth grade when he developed a statistical survey to evaluate teachers’ teaching.

When Jeff was a teenager, the family moved once again—this time to Miami, where he attended Miami Palmetto High School. During high school, Jeff Bezos got his first job as a line cook at McDonald’s.

At the same time, Bezos proved himself a gifted student when he attended the Student Science Training Program at the University of Florida. However, when it was time for him to choose which college to enroll in, he opted for Princeton University as a physics major.

University Years

Despite his initial decision to study physics, Jeff Bezos soon switched to computer science and engineering, which allowed him to pursue his true passion.

During his university years, Bezos excelled academically and also took part in numerous extracurriculars. Particularly notable is the organization called Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, which encourages students to join engineering and space-related projects.

In 1986, Bezos graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering.

Jeff Bezos: Career

Jeff Bezos’ career began at Fitel, a communications start-up that hired him to build a network for global trade. However, the company never took off, so after two years, Bezos left and became a product manager at Bankers Trust.

Despite his quick rise through the ranks, Bezos didn’t stick around in the new company either and instead took a position at the hedge fund D.E. Shaw. His new responsibilities involved researching business opportunities on the Internet, which was still in its infancy in the 1990s.

Thanks to his research, Bezos came up with the idea to sell books online. However, D.E. Shaw wasn’t interested, so he decided to strike out on his own.

#1. Amazon

In 1994, Jeff Bezos left D.E. Shaw and moved to Seattle, where he began working on his virtual bookstore. Originally, he wanted to name it Cadabra, but he switched to Amazon partly because it started with the letter A, which was crucial for search engines at the time.

Amazon officially sold its first book in July 1995 and quickly became the leader in e-commerce. Its secret was a user-friendly website available 24/7 that encouraged buyers to leave reviews and offered personalized recommendations to help them find more books.

But Bezos wasn’t planning to stop at books. In 1998, Amazon started selling CDs, and in 2005, it added to its selection other products, such as hardware, electronics, and apparel. Then, 2007 brought the Kindle and the rise of e-books, which eventually surpassed hardcover books in sales.

Today, Amazon is a multibillion-dollar corporation that focuses on e-commerce, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence.

#2. Blue Origin

Jeff Bezos’ long interest in space culminated in Blue Origin, his spaceflight company founded in 2000. In 2006, the company bought some land in West Texas and began testing rockets in the hopes of increasing the safety of space travel.

Despite a few unsuccessful test runs, Blue Origin eventually found its footing and started launching rockets with dummy passengers into space. Seeing this success, Bezos began to speak more openly about his wish to make humans multi-planetary.

#3. The Washington Post

Another one of Jeff Bezos’ side endeavors was buying The Washington Post in 2013. Having acquired the newspaper, he lifted online paywalls for local newspapers in several U.S. states and set out to reconstruct its online platforms and software.

As a result of these changes, The Washington Post became profitable in 2016 for the first time in years.

#4. Bezos Expeditions

Aside from investing in his own companies, Jeff Bezos likes to support various ventures, healthcare companies, and philanthropic causes. He does all this through Bezos Expeditions, his investment firm established in 2005.

Over the years, Bezos Expeditions has invested in numerous famous companies, like Airbnb, Twitter, Uber, and Business Insider. In addition, Bezos funded the Innovation Center at the Seattle Museum of History and Industry and supported other non-profit organizations.

Which Factors Contributed to Jeff Bezos’ Success?

Factors that contributed to Jeff Bezos’ success include his intelligence, confidence, persistence, and willingness to take calculated risks.

There’s no doubt that Jeff Bezos’ high IQ level plays a huge role in his tremendous success—after all, the billionaire has exceptional problem-solving skills and the ability to recognize an opportunity and create a demand for his products.

However, intelligence alone would have taken him nowhere if he wasn’t also certain of his ability to succeed despite the potential obstacles. The fact that he uprooted his entire life to pursue a dream is proof enough of his confidence and readiness to do whatever it takes.

Finally, Jeff Bezos is undoubtedly a forward-thinking individual who never intended to put all his eggs in one basket. Even though Amazon brought him immense profit, he chose not to rely on it entirely—his other ventures and projects are a testament to that.

Jeff Bezos Controversies

Regardless of how successful or intelligent he may be, Jeff Bezos has not been able to escape his fair share of controversies. A more recent one came from his former Hispanic housekeeper, who accused Bezos of racial discrimination and unfair treatment.

According to the housekeeper, white staff were treated better and had more privileges than Bezos’ Hispanic staff, who weren't allowed to enter his house for any reason aside from cleaning. In addition, working hours were allegedly too long without any breaks.

Jeff Bezos’ IQ Compared to Other High-IQ Businessmen

Although Jeff Bezos’ IQ is high above average, it’s actually quite standard for businessmen of his caliber. In fact, let’s take a look at how he measures up to other billionaires in terms of intelligence.

For starters, we have Bill Gates’s IQ (founder of Microsoft) as well as the IQ of Steve Jobs (founder of Apple), which are both around the same level, with an estimated IQ score of 160. Considering that Jeff Bezos’ IQ is approximately 145–150, the two American businessmen seem to be slightly more intelligent.

Then, there is Jeff Bezos’ rival in the billionaire space race, Elon Musk, with an IQ of approximately 155. The IQ of Warren Buffett, an American investor and business magnate, is at the same level, beating Bezos by only five points.

Jeff Bezos comes even closer to Mark Zuckerberg’s IQ, estimated to be around 152, and probably the closest to the IQ of Mukesh Ambani, an Indian businessman and the richest man in Asia, whose alleged score is 147, thus almost equal to Jeff's.

But no matter how smart any of these businessmen are, Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google, reigns supreme when it comes to intelligence. With an impressive estimated IQ of 178, Sergey Brin surpasses even some of the most brilliant minds in history.

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Final Thoughts

Although there’s no official confirmation regarding Jeff Bezos’ IQ, no one can doubt his intellectual prowess and talent for business. A regular person would hardly be able to peer into the future of the internet and see its unlimited potential, much less seize the opportunity before everyone else.

And even though he’s already done so much, Jeff Bezos seemingly doesn’t intend to retire anytime soon. In fact, his space efforts are just beginning, and we have yet to see what he has in store.