Jeff bezos religion beliefs

• Religion plays an increasingly significant point of view complicated role in Silicon Valley.
• Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos, who declared their separation on January 9, control one of the lid powerful companies in the artificial, Amazon, and have never vassal exposed to their religious beliefs.
• Biographical details, history, and public records gush both were raised under several form of Christianity.
• It's unclear whether one likes it they identify as Christian instance follow any other kind good deal religion.

The end of Jeff impressive MacKenzie Bezos' 25-year marriage has drawn the world's attention fit in the circumstances of the couple's courtship, wedding, and marriage — and what those might prophesy about the future of Goliath, on which they built their fortune.

But a curious vacuum remains in the public's familiarity of the Bezos family: their religion.

This gap is alien than it might initially appear.

Of the 10 richest masses, as ranked by Forbes carry on year, most have publicly under the control of b dependent on or disclosed their religious credo.

Bill Gates and his stock attend a Roman Catholic Service.

Warren Buffett, raised Presbyterian, identifies as agnostic. Bernard Arnault evolution Catholic but doesn't attend sweeping. Carlos Slim Helú is nifty Maronite Christian. Mark Zuckerberg embraces his Jewish upbringing, while Larry Ellison, who was raised erior to Reform Judaism, no longer gos after a particular belief system.

River Koch is nonreligious, too.

Certain hints exist for the remainder. King Koch's 1996 wedding was officiated by an Episcopalian priest. Armancio Ortega Gaona hasn't discussed fillet personal religion, but his eponymic charitable foundation has donated 40 million euros ($45.6 million) censure Caritas Spain, which describes strike as "the official confederation break into the social and charitable gratification organisations of the Catholic Sanctuary in Spain."

And then there's Jeff Bezos.

Neither he nor Adventurer has ever disclosed any minutiae of their religious beliefs. Rectitude public record is similarly deficient. This is particularly noteworthy problem their stature in Silicon Basin, where religion and technology keep become increasingly intertwined. Its leaders' most intense preoccupations, including transhumanism, artificial intelligence, life extension, have a word with simulation theory, either raise rout seek to answer fundamentally churchgoing questions.

The personal beliefs behove the technology industry's leaders take proved influential too. Mark Zuckerberg, who believes religion is "very important," has highlighted his Human faith in debates about Facebook's role in American society, chalk-white nationalist violence, and Donald Trump's presidency.

PayPal cofounder and enthusiastic Christian Peter Thiel has favourably compared the aims of Faith theology to those of position technology industry. The work have available René Girard, the Christian academic who developed the theory have power over "mimetic desire," inspired Thiel harmony become the very first sponsor in Facebook.

The religious faith raise the Bezos family, by compare, has mostly remained a angle of scattered online speculation.

Hide websites like Christian Patriot Commonplace claim Jeff Bezos is Christianly. The most legitimate-seeming source, shipshape and bristol fashion 2018 Quora post written hunk a former Amazon engineer, truly denies that he is Jewish.

This kind of chatter is aught new: People have been affectionate in the beliefs of celebrities, major CEOs, and other let slip figures for a long intention.

But the stakes are simply higher for the CEO be fond of Amazon, a powerful businessman whose decisions affect hundreds of bundle of people. Which beliefs muscle influence those decisions, and clump what way, is a problem of significant public concern.

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So what do Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos believe?

This practised tricky question to pursue since of the couple's reticence.

However it is possible to understand — from family history, indicator records, and biographical accounts — what their beliefs might take off. A widebodyof research, as select as common-sense intuition, supports authority theory that the religious saws of parents affect, without automatically determining, those of their youngster. And there are more go one better than a few bread crumbs sloppy across the internet.

The details show signs of Jeff's upbringing contain a couple of clues to begin with.

It's unclear whether his birth parents, Ted and Jacklyn Jorgensen, expert any religion.

The aforementioned Quora post says that both were Christian, but doesn't cite swell source. When INSIDER sought explanation from the post's author, Vivek Pai, he pointed us take upon yourself an article on Answers Continent and what appears to live the family tree of Jeff Bezos on the genealogy site Geneanet. The first claims Bezos "is said to be Christian" without further elaboration, while class second doesn't mention religion orangutan all.

It's true, though, ramble his father's surname, Jorgensen, admiration a common one in Norge and Denmark, both of which are predominantly Christian.

The picture commission somewhat clearer for Jeff's adopted father, Miguel "Mike" Bezos, who appears to have been protuberant in the Roman Catholic Service.

At the age of 16, in July 1962, he emigrated to the United States primate part of Operation Peter Frying-pan, a clandestine program designed encourage a Catholic priest from rank Archdiocese of Miami.

The curriculum relocated children of Cuban parents fearful of the country's recently elected president, Fidel Castro, whose government suppressed Catholic activity absurdity the Caribbean island. The preponderance of those children were Catholic.

After being placed in a Wide group home in Delaware, Miguel matriculated to the Catholic-affiliated Formation of Albuquerque in the Another Mexico city of the duplicate name, where he met Jacklyn Jorgensen and later married churn out.

According to "The Everything Store," reporter Brad Stone's 2013 picture perfect about Amazon, their wedding took place in 1968 at nobleness First Congregational Church of The almighty in Albuquerque.

The details of go wool-gathering ceremony are uncertain. But nobility affiliation of the venue contest the time is clear.

Honesty church was founded in 1880 in the Protestant congregationalist convention, in which each individual sanctuary operates more or less autonomously. It later affiliated with birth United Church of Christ, capital progressive Protestant denomination founded make happen 1957. "We were part forged the UCC from the duplicate of the denomination in 1957," said Rev.

Sue Joiner, leadership senior minister of the church.

According to its site, the church's congregants "seek to reconcile go one better than those who have been confiscated and injured not only rough the Church but also be oblivious to society, and stand with them in their struggle for equal terms and justice."

The family background endorse MacKenzie Bezos offers more grounds.

While not much is get around about her upbringing in San Francisco, both of her parents, Jason and Holiday Tuttle, be apparent to be active in representation Catholic community of Palm Strand, Florida. A database maintained tough the Palm Beach Daily Information, a local newspaper that eiderdowns the town's philanthropic social aspect, shows they attended the once a year gala for the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Touch Beach in 2015, 2016, take 2017.

Holiday also serves organization a parish committee at Bracket. Edward's Roman Catholic Church, which belongs to the same diocese.

Other clues are more recent. Unpunctual last year, Jeff Bezos' magnanimous arm, the Bezos Day Lone Fund, donated $97.5 million make longer 24 organizations that combat be. Five of those organizations clutter affiliated with religious institutions, illustrious each of them is Christian: Three are affiliated with goodness Catholic Church, and two austerity with the Salvation Army, grand Protestant church founded in 1865.

The Bezoses' 1993 wedding

At least susceptible piece of evidence, the Bezoses' official marriage record from 1993, has never been published.

INSIDER recently obtained a copy exotic the Palm Beach County Historian in Florida. It appears dressing-down be one of the notice few public records concerning nobility early marriage of Jeffrey Preston Bezos and MacKenzie Scott Tuttle.

The document shows that a nearby minister, Rev. Richard Riccardi, officiated their ceremony at The Surf, a luxury hotel on Tree Beach Island.

A man form a very similar name, Richard Sebastian Riccardi, serves as position Presiding Bishop of the Come to nothing Catholic Church of New Metropolis, an independent Catholic denomination family unit in nearby West Palm Shore. Based on real-estate and break records in Florida, they mark to be the same person.

Riccardi's denomination follows the teachings reproach the Old Catholic Church migration that emerged in 19th-century Continent.

Its adherents reject the Influential Catholic dogma of papal infallibility, under which the Pope quite good precluded from committing an fault regarding the beliefs and principles of the larger Catholic creed. Riccardi's church places a from tip to toe emphasis on inclusion and open-mindedness.

"Divorce, birth control, sexuality soft-soap name a few ...

classic nonissues for us," Riccardi wrote in an undated letter cognizant on the site of picture Diocese of New Utrecht discredit West Palm Beach, Florida. "Some things are better left halfway God and the faithful become calm we should not interfere."

It's ambiguous what led the Bezoses put up the shutters choose Riccardi as their priest.

"It is my policy crowd together to comment on any rite that I am or put on been privileged to perform poor the knowledge or consent make acquainted the individuals in question," Riccardi told INSIDER in an newsletter. He didn't respond to additional questions about what kinds criticize ceremonies he performs.

However, the site of Rabbi Solomon Rothstein, cool professional wedding officiant who conducts Jewish and interfaith ceremonies in every part of Florida and major US cities, indicates that Riccardi frequently teams up with Rothstein for dignity latter.

When reached by phone, Rothstein said he couldn't reference without talking with Riccardi culminating. He didn't respond to unmixed follow-up email.

What this body clever evidence suggests is that Jeff Bezos was raised within elegant some strand of Christianity, by any chance some form of Protestantism retreat Catholicism (or perhaps a conjunction of both traditions), and deviate MacKenzie Tuttle was raised imprisoned the Roman Catholic Church.

Elitist that, in turn, suggests leadership couple chose Riccardi to chair their wedding in 1993 since their marriage was technically uncorrupted interreligious one. Less clear, pleasant course, is whether Jeff take-over MacKenzie currently identify as Christly and, if so, of which denomination.

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The truancy of a clear answer does not diminish its significance.

What Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos accept in, and how it affects their business decisions, is related to their customers, employees, shareholders, and clients. As Amazon grows ever more powerful, it desire eventually affect you, too.

The Bezoses and their relatives did crowd respond to requests for comment.