From humble beginnings to master of the universe: How did Jeff Bezos make his billions?

A big part of the answer is his frugality – but he also has a knack for knowing when to put his neck on the line and when to keep his head down. Josie Cox explains

Bezos is not to be messed with. He’s taken over the internet. His next mission is space (AP)

When Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen was three years old, he reportedly dismantled his cot with a screwdriver because he desperately wanted to sleep in a proper bed. While no doubt annoying for his probably startled parents, it may well have been one of the first indications that precocious young Jeff was not your average kid growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Biographies of the now 55-year-old describe his striking mechanical aptitude at a very young age. After the cot incident, he is said to have rigged up an electric alarm to keep his younger siblings out of his bedroom, and later he converted his parents’ garage into a lab for his quirky science projects.

Ambition and creativity morphed into academic excellence. Jeff attended high school in Miami where he graduated top of his class and then went to Princeton University, where he earned a degree in computer science and electrical engineering, a qualification that swiftly secured him a job at a top bank on Wall Street.