Jeff Bezos

January 18, 2022, 6:26 am

Oxfam says world’s 10 richest men doubled their wealth during COVID

Combined fortune jumped from $700 billion to $1.5 trillion; charity slams inequality as ‘economic violence,’ noting it was accompanied by soaring poverty in rest of world

By AFP

FILE - Glen de Vries, right, takes a look as William Shatner, left, shows what rocket lift off did to his face during a media availability at the spaceport near Van Horn, Texas, Oct. 13, 2021 (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

November 13, 2021, 8:04 am

Man who went to space with William Shatner dies in plane crash

Glen M. de Vries killed along with another person when small plane crashes; last month he took a 10-minute flight to the edge of space aboard Blue Origin spacecraft with actor

By AP

William Shatner (left), with Jeff Bezos, at the end of his space voyage, October 13, 2021 (CBS screenshot)

October 13, 2021, 7:24 pm

Kirk crosses final frontier: Shatner hails ‘most profound experience’ in space

After flying on Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin rocket, becoming oldest man ever to leave Earth, Jewish actor who taught many to dream of the stars tears up over his ‘unbelievable’ trip

By AP and TOI staff

This undated photo made available by Blue Origin in October 2021 shows, from left, Chris Boshuizen, William Shatner, Audrey Powers and Glen de Vries. Their launch was scheduled for October 13, 2021. (Blue Origin via AP)

October 13, 2021, 11:41 am

At 90, William Shatner heads to final frontier

Actor, who played commander of Starship Enterprise, set to launch Wednesday on Blue Origin rocket for a ten-minute ride to space, where no one of his age has gone before

By Marcia Dunn and RICK TABER

William Shatner participates in the 'William Shatner Spotlight' panel at C2E2 at McCormick Place, on Sunday, March 1, 2020, in Chicago. (Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP)

September 26, 2021, 4:35 pm

William Shatner, at 90, set to boldly go to space

Over 50 years since he first piloted the Starship Enterprise, Jewish-Canadian actor will reportedly take a real-life trip off-planet aboard Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin rocket ship

By TOI staff

Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket launches carrying passengers Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and space tourism company Blue Origin, brother Mark Bezos, Oliver Daemen and Wally Funk, from its spaceport near Van Horn, Texas, July 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

July 20, 2021, 6:00 pm

Jeff Bezos travels to space on own rocket: ‘Best day ever!’

Amazon founder blasts off on his Blue Origin’s first passenger flight, week after fellow billionaire Richard Branson rode his own spacecraft

By Marcia Dunn

In this photo provided by Blue Origin, from left to right: Mark Bezos, brother of Jeff Bezos;
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and space tourism company Blue Origin; Oliver Daemen, of the Netherlands;
and Wally Funk, aviation pioneer from Texas, pose for a photo. (Blue Origin via AP)

July 20, 2021, 3:41 pm

Bezos set to take off for space on his company’s first manned flight

Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket will blast off with eclectic group of passengers on the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing

By Marcia Dunn

The Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo space plane Unity and mothership separate as they fly way above Spaceport America, near Truth and Consequences, New Mexico on July 11, 2021 on the way to the cosmos. (Patrick T. FALLON / AFP)

July 11, 2021, 7:05 pm

British billionaire Richard Branson reaches edge of space in own rocket

Entrepreneur blasts off from a base in New Mexico aboard a Virgin Galactic vessel, returns to earth safely

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN and Marcia Dunn

In this March 4, 2018, file photo, MacKenzie Scott, the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

June 16, 2021, 2:59 pm

MacKenzie Scott donates to Jewish charities in US, South Africa

Ex-wife of Amazon’s Bezos gives funding to HIAS, Repair the World and Afrika Tikkun as part of her latest $2.74 billion round of high-profile philanthropy

By Asaf Shalev

Jeff Bezos speaks at an event unveiling Blue Origin's Blue Moon lunar lander in Washington, May 9, 2019. (AP/Patrick Semansky)

June 7, 2021, 3:48 pm

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos heading to outer space — for 4 minutes

Billionaire businessman and his brother are slated to board a rocket for a brief journey to space on July 20

By AFP

Democratic members of Congress join representatives of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union gather outside an Amazon fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama, on March 5, 2021, to advocate for the ongoing unionization vote at the sprawling campus. The elected officials pictured include, starting second from left, Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York, Nikema Williams of Georgia, Terri Sewell of Alabama, Cori Bush of Missouri and Andy Levin of Michigan. (AP Photo/Bill Barrow)

April 10, 2021, 2:19 am

Drive to unionize at Amazon warehouse in US voted down after bitter campaign

Majority of workers at Alabama facility vote against push to form union; activists demand a re-vote, alleging retail giant used unfair tactics

By Agencies and TOI staff

Rep. Nikema Williams of Georgia and RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum visit the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Birmingham, Alabama, after meeting with workers and organizers involved in the facility's unionization effort, March 5, 2021. (Megan Varner/Getty Images/JTA)

April 9, 2021, 10:33 am

Meet the longtime Jewish labor activist going up against Amazon in Alabama

Stuart Appelbaum speaks about his Jewish roots and what the fight against the mammoth online retailer has changed in the American labor movement

By Andrew Lapin

Miriam and Sheldon Adelson at the Birthright Israel gala event in Jerusalem, June 27, 2018. (Courtesy Birthright Israel/Oren Ben Hakun)

April 7, 2021, 8:58 am

Miriam Adelson becomes richest Israeli as COVID year boosts world’s billionaires

Forbes 2021 list puts widow of casino mogul Sheldon Adelson as wealthiest new billionaire in the world; 28 Israelis on list, including Roman Abramovich

By TOI staff

Amazon's Andy Jassy in 2019 (video screenshot)

February 5, 2021, 9:30 am

As Bezos steps down, Amazon to get new Jewish CEO

Andy Jassy, a longtime executive, helped shape company’s highly profitable cloud computing department

By JTA

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos speaks at the the Amazon re:MARS convention in Las Vegas, June 6, 2019. (John Locher/AP/File)

February 3, 2021, 8:39 am

Jeff Bezos to step down as CEO of Amazon, focus on philanthropy instead

Entrepreneur, who over three decades built online retailer from scratch to become one of world’s most valuable companies, will hand over to Andy Jassy, head of firm’s web services

By Rob Lever