How Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ style has evolved, from nerdy geek to trim and chic
- In recent years Bezos has become an unwitting fashion icon, but things weren’t always that way
- He officially became a fashion influencer when French swimwear brand Vilebrequin relaunched a pair of swimming trunks after he was seen wearing them in 2019
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos made headlines this week when he announced that he would step down as CEO of the company he founded in 1994 to focus on philanthropy and his media and space-travel businesses.
Things, however, weren’t always that way for Bezos, who looked quite different when he founded Amazon from his garage in Seattle and went on to become the world’s richest man.
Bezos had a makeover of sorts in the early aughts, when he started to focus on his physical appearance and personal style, as these pictures show.
In December 1999, Bezos appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno for an interview in which he showed a toy available on his superstore. His receding hairline and attempt at a suit – a mismatched baggy jacket-shirt-and-trouser combo – are a far cry from the stylish fits of the Bezos of today.
Bezos kept a very low profile in the first decade of the 21st century, making few appearances and focusing on his fast-growing business. On a visit to New York in 2002, after Amazon posted its first quarterly profit, he looked upbeat, but his ill-fitting jacket paired with equally ill-fitting khaki pants said otherwise.
