Tag Archives: Jeff Bezos

NBC News reports: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has surpassed Jeff Bezos as the world’s second richest person, reports CNBC. Zuckerberg’s net worth reached $206.2 billion on Thursday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, topping the $205.1 billion net worth of the former Amazon CEO and president. The Facebook co-founder now trails Tesla chief Elon Musk by roughly $50 billion, the …

The Washington Post reports: After more than a year and a half, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin launched another space tourism mission, the first since the company suffered an engine failure on a flight that ended with the capsule’s emergency escape system blasting it away from the rocket booster, which crashed in the West Texas desert. On board the flight is …

Hawaii News Now reports: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his fiancee Lauren Sanchez announced they’ll donate $100 million to Maui wildfire relief efforts. “Jeff and I are heartbroken by what’s happening in Maui. We are thinking of the families that have lost so much and a community that has been left devastated,” Sanchez wrote. The couple says the money will …

The BBC reports: The US Coast Guard has sent two C-130 Hercules aircraft to search for the submersible on the surface of the water, and has been joined by a Canadian C-130, and a P8 aircraft equipped with underwater sonar capability. Sonar buoys are also being deployed in the area. Rear Adm John Mauger of the US Coast Guard said …

Fortune reports: Jeff Bezos named Dolly Parton the latest recipient of his Courage and Civility award, handing the music legend $100 million to direct to any charities she chooses. “She gives with her heart. What she’s done for kids, and literacy, and so many other things, is just incredible,” Bezos, 58, said in a video posted on social media. “I’ve …

Reuters reports: Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donated $275 million to women’s healthcare provider Planned Parenthood, the largest gift from a single donor in the organization’s more than 100-year history, Planned Parenthood said on Wednesday. The donation, which is part of Scott’s pledge to give away the majority of her wealth, was made to Planned Parenthood’s national office and 21 regional …

The Associated Press reports: Pete Davidson has bowed out of a short ride to space on a Jeff Bezos rocket. The “Saturday Night Live” star is no longer able to make the flight, which has been delayed for nearly a week, Bezos’ space travel company said Thursday night. The company announced earlier this week that Davidson would be one of …

CNN Business reports: Pete Davidson will become the latest celebrity to fly to space with Jeff Bezos’ rocket company, Blue Origin, in a brief, suborbital flight slated for later this month. The company announced Monday morning that Davidson, the Saturday Night Live star who’s become a pillar of entertainment intrigue amid his relationship with Kim Kardashian, will fly alongside five …

USA Today reports: Jeff Bezos’ superyacht is too large to pass through the Dutch port city of Rotterdam, so the town decided to dismantle the bridge. In retaliation, local residents vow to egg Bezos’ yacht as it passed through. As of Thursday, more than 14,000 people were “interested” and 4,000 confirmed they will attend a Facebook event titled “Throwing eggs …

The New York Post reports: A Dutch city has agreed to spend weeks taking down a historic bridge so Jeff Bezos’ new gigantic superyacht can reach the open seas this summer. The Amazon founder’s 417-foot-long, three-masted ship is under construction in the Netherlands, but the pleasure boat will be too tall to pass under Rotterdam’s landmark Koningshaven Bridge. As a …

Axios reports: Senate Democrats on Wednesday released a billionaires’ tax proposal, designed to help support President Biden’s social spending and climate change legislation. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said the Billionaires Income Tax would raise “hundreds of billions of dollars” and would affect approximately 700 taxpayers who have more than $1 billion in assets or …

The Hill reports: Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin on Monday announced plans to build a commercial space station for business and travel in low-Earth orbit. Blue Origin said it is working with Boeing and Sierra Space on a commercially developed, owned and operated space station known as “Orbital Reef.” The company said the space station will be operated as …

NBC News reports: More than 50 years after he debuted as the beloved Capt. James T. Kirk in the original series of “Star Trek,” William Shatner is set to boldly go to the edge of space. The 90-year-old actor is scheduled to launch Wednesday aboard a rocket and capsule developed by Blue Origin, the private spaceflight company founded by Amazon …

The New York Post reports: Elon Musk has come through on his promise to send Jeff Bezos a silver medal now that the Tesla CEO has surpassed the Amazon founder to become the world’s richest person. Musk couldn’t help himself from chiming in on Twitter after Bezos posted a message about overcoming adversity. Shortly after midnight, Musk responded with a …

CNBC reports: Science fiction will soon become reality, as William Shatner is scheduled to launch on the next crewed spaceflight of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. Blue Origin plans to fly the Canadian actor, who famously played Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek television series, as one of the passengers on the company’s New Shepard rocket. The launch is planned …

The Verge reports: Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin brought its fight against NASA’s Moon program to federal court, doubling down on accusations that the agency wrongly evaluated its lunar lander proposal. The complaint escalates a monthslong crusade by the company to win a chunk of lunar lander funds that was only given to its rival, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, and …

The Verge reports: The Government Accountability Office squashed Blue Origin’s protest over NASA’s decision to pick a single lunar lander contractor, the agency said Friday, also denying a similar protest from Dynetics. The GAO’s decision keeps Blue Origin’s rival, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, the sole winner of NASA’s lucrative Moon lander program and hands a loss to Jeff Bezos, whose space …

The Verge reports: Jeff Bezos is offering NASA a discount of at least $2 billion for the agency to give his space company a lucrative human lunar landing system contract that his rival, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, won earlier this year. Bezos’ new offer is the latest in an escalating string of efforts to win the contract for Blue Origin. In …

Space.com reports: Blue Origin will launch its first crewed mission on its New Shepard rocket July 20 to fly its billionaire founder Jeff Bezos and three other passengers to suborbital space and back. Liftoff is set for 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT) from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in West Texas and will launch Bezos, his brother Mark Bezos, Mercury …

Via press release from the Smithsonian: The Smithsonian will receive a $200 million donation from Jeff Bezos, founder and executive chair of Amazon, and founder of aerospace and space flight company Blue Origin. The donation is the largest gift to the Smithsonian since the Institution’s founding gift from James Smithson in 1846. A $70 million portion of the donation will …