Who were Jeff Bezos’ biological parents? All about Ted Jorgensen and Jacklyn Bezos as billionaire’s mom passes away

Jeff Bezos’ mother, Jacklyn “Jackie” Bezos, passed away on Thursday, August 14, more than a decade after the death of his biological father, Ted Jorgensen. 

The billionaire shared the tragic news via his social media, confirming that his mom died after her longstanding fight with Lewy body dementia. Jackie was still a teenager when she had her firstborn, Jeff. Bezos reflected upon the early start to his mother’s adulthood, who was 17 then. He added: 

“That couldn’t have been easy, but she made it all work. She pounced on the job of loving me with ferocity, brought my amazing dad onto the team a few years later, and then added my sister and brother to her list of people to love, guard, and nourish.” 

Jeff Bezos added: 

“For the rest of her life, that list of people to love never stopped growing. She always gave so much more than she ever asked for.”

Ted Jorgensen, Jeff Bezos’ biological father, married his mother, Jackie, in 1963, after she got pregnant. She was in high school at the time, while Jorgensen was a circus performer, according to LADbible. Ted, an Albuquerque native, was 19 when Jeff (Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen) was born in January 1964. 

According to USA Today, Jackie filed for a divorce in 1965 as the couple parted ways within two years of marriage. Per an obituary on Legacy.com, Ted Jorgensen (born October 1944) died in March 2015 at 70. He relocated to Glendale, Arizona, in 1974 and owned and operated the Road Runner Bike Center for more than 35 years. 

Ted married Linda Jorgensen again, and the pair remained together for 27 years, until the former’s death. Apart from being the biological father of Jeff Bezos, the late bicycle shop owner was also stepdad to Linda’s four children – Mike, Todd, Lee, and Darin. 

Ted Jorgensen got to know about his biological son, Jeff Bezos, during the final years of his life

According to a 2013 excerpt featured in Bloomberg Businessweek from journalist Brad Stone’s book on the billionaire, The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon, Jackie was married to her first husband for 17 months. In January 2014, Inside Edition reached out to Ted Jorgensen, who had recently found out about the Amazon.com founder being his biological son. 

Recounting how he found out about his son, Jorgensen said at the time: 

“I was working in a Walmart and I remember them coming to visit me for some reason. It was cold and he had his little winter coat on and I just remember him walking down the aisle coming to see me.” 

Ted shared his regrets about giving up custody of Bezos when he was still a toddler, but asserted that it was the decision he thought was best at the time. He also admitted to being unaware of Jeff Bezos, the 12th richest American at the time. Ted was suffering from emphysema then and shared his desire to meet his son at least once before he died. 

When asked what he would tell Jeff Bezos, Jorgensen replied: 

“I would just like to tell him I used to change his diapers and just shake his hand and tell him he's really done a good job with his life.” 

Jeff, whom Miguel Bezos adopted,  reportedly commented then: 

“I've never met him. The only time I ever think about it is when a doctor asks me to fill out a form.” 

For the unversed, Jackie met Miguel, a Cuban-American, and married him in 1968. The billionaire, philanthropist, and the co-founder of the Bezos Family Foundation raised Jeffery, the father of his half-siblings, Mark and Christine.