In the face of constant skepticism, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos patiently and persistently stuck to his plan - and created a $280 billion empire.
![How Amazon's Jeff Bezos Created a $280 Billion Empire](https://magarticles.magzter.com/articles/1143/161933/5730c88ce411b/Jeff-Bezos.jpg)
The people and companies that invent the future don’t always get to play in it. Thomas Edison’s reward for creating the lightbulb, the phonograph and the electric grid was to get crushed by financier J.P. Morgan. Robert Sarnoff ’s RCA Corp. made the first color TV sets, controlled the broadcast networks and dictated programming, dominating devices and content way before Steve Jobs even dreamed about doing it. RCA folded in 1986.
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is well aware of this history. “Amazon will be disrupted one day. I don’t worry about it, because I know it’s inevitable,” he told 60 Minutes. “Companies come and go, and the companies that are the shiniest and the most important of any era—you wait a few decades and they’re gone.”
Yet when you look at the company Bezos continues to build, you see a guy erecting a forest of fences for competitors to climb before they can even get close to him. In 1996, Amazon.com was one of the Web’s alpha disrupters, an online bookstore with the outrageous goal of making every book ever published available in a minute—even if, in the early days, it was just Bezos, his wife, MacKenzie, and a few brainiac buddies filling orders in a Seattle garage. “Twenty years ago, I was driving the packages to the post office myself and hoping we might one day afford a forklift,” he said in announcing Amazon’s 2015 results. “This year, we pass $100 billion in annual sales and serve 300 million customers.”
Denne historien er fra May 2016-utgaven av Maxim.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra May 2016-utgaven av Maxim.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
![150 YEARS of SUPERYACHTS STYLE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1143/1682596/NjmdSIMnX1716817372935/150-YEARS-OF-SUPERYACHTS-STYLE.jpg)
150 YEARS of SUPERYACHTS STYLE
Here's why Benetti's expensive-but-worth-it vessels have been favored by the beautiful people, from James Bond to Donald Trump, David Bowie and Jay-Z
![KING of the PRANCING HORSES](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1143/1682596/7BVVMjE7r1716817093546/KING-OF-THE-PRANCING-HORSES.jpg)
KING of the PRANCING HORSES
The extremely sought-after Ferrari 250 series-including the sales record-setting 250 GTO-are the most valuable cars that money can buy
![LUST for LIFE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1143/1682596/DCoxmhm9-1716816880221/LUST-FOR-LIFE.jpg)
LUST for LIFE
French photographer Philippe Shangti's world of lush, sometimes lurid seenes isn't always what it seems
![A CENTURY of MOROCCAN STYLE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1143/1682596/gzU0UCPlA1716816585184/A-CENTURY-OF-MOROCCAN-STYLE.jpg)
A CENTURY of MOROCCAN STYLE
The legendary La Mamounia in Marrakech unveils a multimillion-dollar renovation on the occasion of its 100th anniversary
![SPRITZ & SPREZZATURA](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1143/1682596/WAz5ik_x71716816313819/SPRITZ-SPREZZATURA.jpg)
SPRITZ & SPREZZATURA
Everything you need to know about the evolution of the spritz, which has gone beyond bitter into vibrant, refreshing and eclectic
![APEX PREDATOR](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1143/1682596/U2_HAGOl61716816099814/APEX-PREDATOR.jpg)
APEX PREDATOR
Driving the new GT 63 supercar across the hills of Spain reveals Mercedes-AMG only made a great supercar better
![HAPPIEST ANNIVERSARIES](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1143/1682596/PcpP0jwC-1716815887432/HAPPIEST-ANNIVERSARIES.jpg)
HAPPIEST ANNIVERSARIES
When it comes to fine smokes, \"anniversario\" blends just keep getting better with time
![THE RAZOR'S EDGE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1143/1682596/yylXTVdsD1716815692162/THE-RAZORS-EDGE.jpg)
THE RAZOR'S EDGE
Collectors are taking note of William Henry's nextlevel pocket knives, the ultimate in luxury cutting tools
![LIGHTS, CAMERA ,ACTION!](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1143/1682596/rebZQUa-p1716815579036/LIGHTS-CAMERA-ACTION.jpg)
LIGHTS, CAMERA ,ACTION!
A conversation with Emmy-winning cinematographer and director Keyan Safyari
![ROLLIN' THUNDER](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/1143/1682596/EUWYxxLgT1716815445388/ROLLIN-THUNDER.jpg)
ROLLIN' THUNDER
Malaysia's Rollin Machine crafts a world-class tribute to the Royal Enfield Interceptor