Jeff Bezos' biological father had no idea who he became, until a biographer showed up with one question
How Ted Jorgensen, a bike shop owner, discovered his biological son was the celebrity founder of Amazon
We are all haunted by the ghosts of our worst mistakes, constantly wondering how a single crossroads might've rewritten our entire lives. For Ted Jorgensen, one such mistake was from the 1960s, when he was just a poor 18-year-old circus performer. Following his split-up with his former wife, Jacklyn Gise, he signed away the custody of his son, believing it was best for the child at the time. Although that might've been true to some extent, years later, Jorgensen changed his mind, calling that act his "biggest mistake" after discovering that his son had grown up to be none other than billionaire Jeff Bezos, according to Inside Edition (@InsideEdition) in January 2014.
Jorgensen's marriage fell apart
The story began when Gise, who was just 17 at the time, got pregnant with Bezoz. Even though both of them were still in high school at the time, they decided to marry each other before Bezos' birth. However, the marriage didn't last long. After only 17 months of being together, the couple decided to file for divorce. This came after Jorgensen reportedly started to stay out late and drink too much, not being there for his wife and son.
So, Gise decided to move back with her parents shortly after, and the pair decided to part ways. Given that he didn't make much, Jorgensen only made small child support payments to Gise. In fact, he only made them when he had money. Nonetheless, the arrangement lasted only about three years, as Gise later married another man, Miguel Bezos, who then raised Jeff as his own. For a brief period after signing away his parental rights, Jorgensen remembered the Bezos surname. He then moved on with his life, completely losing contact with both his former wife and son.
It took years for him to realize
Following this, Jorgensen left his circus gig and opened a bike shop in Arizona, and worked there, living a separate life with his second wife, Lina, until one day, a biographer walked into his shop. It was only then that he got to know about his long-lost son and how he had gone to change the world through Amazon.com. Before that, the only memory he had of Jeff was when he and Gise came to bid farewell to him one last time. Nonetheless, as the conversation about his son went deeper, Jorgensen admitted that letting go of his son was a "big mistake."
He wanted to meet him
Upon learning about his son, Jorgensen wanted to meet him. He was battling emphysema and wanted to apologize to his son before he died. However, given Jeff's stature, this was easier said than done. Unfortunately, before Jorgensen could ever meet Bezos again, he passed away in 2015. As saddening as that is, what makes this even more bizarre is the fact that, unlike Jeff, the majority of the adopted adults want to know about their biological family.
Adoptees are often curious about their origins. In fact, this curiosity is only hindered because of a few barriers, such as hurting the feelings of their adopted parents or them not being ready for the confrontation. Still, only about 15% to 25% of adoptees don't want any type of contact or information about their biological parents, as per a study by Evan D. Donaldson Adoption Institute. Separate research from the Netherlands found that 51% of adult adoptees had already searched for information about their background, while another 18% intended to do so in the future.
People were devastated
Many were sad that Jorgensen didn't get his wish granted. @joey19xx73 said, "'I don't want a penny from him, I just wanna shake his hand and tell him he's done a really good job with his life.' Damn, that's sad... and he's passed away now. Poor guy had to die in regret. Seemed like a nice old man," he wrote. Meanwhile, @Mar-hu9tf commented, "Gosh. It's not like he dumped his kid. I think the guy will one day regret not seeing his dad when he had the chance."
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