Jeff Bezos' mum, who funded his Amazon, dies at 78

Mrs Jackie Bezos, a fierce protector of her son, Mr Jeff Bezos, before the latter founded Amazon.com and a deep-pocketed advocate for early childhood education, has died. She was 78.

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SEATTLE -

Mrs Bezos died at her home in Miami on Aug 14, according to the Bezos Family Foundation's website. In a tribute on social media, Mr Bezos wrote that his mother died "surrounded by so many of us who loved her", saying her death followed "a long fight with Lewy body dementia".

With her husband, Miguel, Mrs Bezos was the first to invest in Amazon. Their two cheques, totalling US$245,573 in 1995 (about S$350,000 then), backed the start-up that Mr Bezos warned would probably fail. It did not, of course, and the investment - along with subsequent purchases of Amazon shares - netted them a fortune estimated to be as large as US$30 billion in 2018.

Starting in 2000 - decades before their son or his company launched their own philanthropic endeavours - the couple funded educational programmes through the Bezos Family Foundation. For years, it was the highest-profile charity giving away a slice of the fortunes created by the e-commerce giant.