Jeff Bezos’ 2 Siblings: All About Christina and Mark

Jeff Bezos and his sister and brother have long cheered each other on

Jeff Bezos is a proud older brother to his siblings, Christina and Mark.

The Amazon founder was born in 1964, while his mother, Jacklyn Bezos, was married to her first husband, Ted Jorgensen. They split when Jeff was 17 months old, and Jacklyn eventually met Mike Bezos when he was attending the University of New Mexico. The pair wed in 1968 and later welcomed Jeff’s half-siblings.

Jeff grew up close with his younger sister and brother, and they remain just as tight-knit to this day. Christina and Mark have been by Jeff’s side through all of his successes, which they say come as no surprise—although they admit his fame was difficult to process at first.

Related: All About Jeff Bezos' Parents, Jacklyn Bezos, Miguel Bezos and Ted Jorgensen

“When your brother is all of a sudden one of these people who is being recognised, you look at him and try to imagine you’re seeing him for the first time,” Mark told The Seattle Times in 1999. “[He’s] Jeff Bezos, the guy who started Amazon, as opposed to Jeff Bezos, the guy who used to make you tickle his feet."

The siblings have now undoubtedly come to terms with Jeff’s notability, and their bond remains strong. The feeling is mutual for the entrepreneur, who expressed his gratitude toward them on Instagram.

“Having siblings you’re close to is one of life’s greatest gifts,” he captioned a selfie of them.

Here’s everything to know about Jeff Bezos’ siblings, Christina and Mark.

Jeff’s family moved around often when he was young

Born in 1964, Jeff is the oldest of his two siblings. Following Jacklyn and Mike's wedding in 1968, Mike formally adopted Jeff and the couple welcomed two more children together.

Christina arrived in 1969 and Mark followed in 1970, according to Brad Stone’s 2013 book The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon.

After Mike obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of New Mexico, the family relocated to Texas for his job at Exxon, per Jeff’s Academy of Achievement bio. There, Jeff’s aptitude for all things science became apparent and his siblings became unwilling participants in his experiments.

At one point, Jeff even created an electric alarm to prevent Christina and Mark from getting into his bedroom. Apart from his inventions, he also helped his younger siblings with their school work, assisting them with science projects, like building seismographs, according to a Seattle Times profile.

As a teenager, Jeff and his family moved once again, this time settling down in Florida. While Jeff continued his high school career locally, Mark opted to attend a boarding school in Norway called Stavanger American School, per his LinkedIn.

Jeff and his siblings spent their summers on their grandparent’s ranch

Growing up, Jeff, Mark and Christina spent the summer months on their maternal grandfather’s ranch in Cotulla, Texas. There, they rode horses and learned to drive the family's 1962 International Harvester Scout.

The three siblings also gained an understanding of hard work from their grandfather, who Jeff says was a “real problem solver,” often picking up new skills to make repairs around the property. During the summer, the trio would fix windmills, repair bulldozers and at one point, they built an entire house from a kit from Sears.

“There was always work to be done on the ranch,” Mark shared at a 2017 Summit event with Jeff. “One of the things that I think we learned to value ... is the role that resourcefulness, self-reliance plays, certainly on a place like the ranch.”

Later, Christina and Mark spent their summer at an educational camp helmed by Jeff, per Wired. Called the DREAM Institute, short for Directed REAsoning Methods, Jeff’s siblings and a handful of other middle school students spent their vacation time learning about a mix of science and literature.

Mark worked in the advertising industry

After finishing high school, Mark attended Texas Christian University. When he graduated in 1992 with a degree in advertising and public relations, he began a career in the advertising industry, working at companies like DDB Needham and Renegade Marketing Group, per AdWeek.

By 1999, Mark had founded his own agency, the Bezos-Nathanson Marketing Group, alongside his longtime colleague David Nathanson. Over the next several years, the duo handled advertising for internet startups as well as companies like Cendant and Jet Airways. According to The New York Times, the company was acquired by EastWest Creative in 2005.

Over a decade later, Mark founded a private equity firm called HighPost Capital with professional investor David Moross. With the backing of the Bezos family, the company invests “into the sports, media, health & wellness, leisure and lifestyle sectors,” according to its website.

In addition to his advertising and investing interests, Mark has served on the board of directors for several organizations, including Conservation International and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

Christina and Mark were early investors in Amazon

When Amazon was getting off the ground, Jeff looked to family and friends for investments to build his young company. In 1995, Jacklyn and Mike invested nearly $250,000 — and they weren't the only ones.

According to a 1997 SEC filing reported by Bloomberg, Christina and Mark were two of his family members who decided to invest. The year prior, they each bought 30,000 Amazon shares for $10,000.

While Jeff’s family has not spoken out about their ownership in Amazon in many years, financial experts believe that if Christina and Mark did not sell any of those shares, they could each be worth $640 million as of 2018, according to the publication.

Mark joined Jeff on a trip to space in 2021

As a lifelong space travel enthusiast, Jeff worked toward establishing his company, Blue Origin, and when it made its first crewed journey into space, he invited Mark to accompany him.

For the trip, they were also joined by the oldest and the youngest person to ever fly in space: 82-year-old Wally Funk and 18-year-old Oliver Daemen, respectively.

“I wasn’t even expecting him to say he was going to be on the first flight, and then when he asked me to go along, I was just awestruck," Mark said in a clip ahead of the flight. "What a remarkable opportunity, not only to have this adventure but to be able to do it with my best friend."

Right before the epic adventure began in July 2021, the brothers received a message from Christina, which mission control read to them.

“Now hurry up and your a-- back down here so I can give you a huge hug. We love you, and Godspeed,” she said in part of the transmission, per CBS News.

The message caused the brothers to become emotional. “I actually teared up right there in the capsule,” Jeff told CBS This Morning. “It was so heartfelt, and she talked about some of the things we did as kids. It was a very sweet message.”

Christina and Mark are involved in philanthropy

After Mark’s advertising agency was acquired, he made a pivot to philanthropy: In 2006, he joined the nonprofit Robin Hood as their senior vice president of communications and events. He helped bring in generous donations for the organization and produced large-scale fundraising events, one of which brought in $101 million in one night, according to Mark’s HighPost bio.

Mark and Christina are also closely involved with the Bezos Family Foundation, of which Mark has been a director since 1999.

The organization was founded by their parents, Jacklyn and Mike, and aims to help young people discover their full potential. Through grants and programs, the foundation works to “advance the science of learning so that more kids thrive.”

Outside of the foundation, the family also makes private donations to charity, including a $35 million gift to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in 2017 and a subsequent $710.5 million donation in 2023.

Mark is a volunteer firefighter in his spare time

Since 2005, Mark has been a volunteer firefighter with the Scarsdale Fire Department in upstate New York. According to a WAG magazine profile, he was drawn to the opportunity after his wife suggested it could help balance out his corporate career.

“I wanted to be able to give back in some way more meaningfully than just writing a check,” he told the outlet. “And this just really clicked. It was physically challenging, which I appreciated. But it was also a way to be a bigger part of the community.”

He has been so passionate about his work with the department that he delivered a TEDTalk about his experience. In one story, he recalled being asked to retrieve a pair of shoes from a burning home for a woman. While he initially thought it was trivial, her gratitude made him realize the importance of small acts of kindness.

“In both my vocation at Robin Hood and my avocation as a volunteer firefighter, I am witness to acts of generosity and kindness on a monumental scale," he said in 2011. "But I'm also witness to acts of grace and courage on an individual basis. And you know what I've learned? They all matter."

Mark added, “I would offer this reminder: Don't wait. Don't wait until you make your first million to make a difference in somebody's life."

They are supportive of one another

Jeff and his siblings have been close since childhood and as they've grown up, the trio continue encouraging one another's endeavors.

One of these pursuits included Mark’s first marathon in New York, during which Jeff ran with him starting at the 25-mile mark, offering moral support until the finish line, per The Seattle Times.

Related: Jeff Bezos' 4 Kids: Everything to Know

The siblings have often spent holidays together alongside their growing families, per Wired. In addition to Jeff’s four children, Mark has four kids and Christina has three of her own.

While speaking about their relationship at the 2017 Summit event, Jeff said he always laughs while spending time with siblings, even calling Mark the “funniest guy in my life.”

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