Who is Jeff Bezos' biological father and what happened to him? All about unicycle hockey player Ted Jorgensen 

Jeff Bezos’ mother, Jacklyn Gise Bezos, passed away on August 14, 2025, in Miami, after her long battle with Lewy Body Dementia.

The Amazon and Blue Origin founder announced the news on his Instagram. He shared a picture of his mom and wrote in the caption –

“After a long fight with Lewy Body Dementia, she passed away today, surrounded by so many of us who loved her — her kids, grandkids, and my dad. I know she felt our love in those final moments. We were all so lucky to be in her life. I hold her safe in my heart forever.”

With her passing, people are left wondering about the biological father of the 61-year-old.

According to a report in People magazine, the entrepreneur was born on January 12, 1964, to his mother, Jacklyn, and his biological father, Ted Jorgensen. He was the owner of Road Runner Bike Center in Arizona and passed away in 2015.

Here are more details of his father, Ted Jorgensen.

All we know about Jeff Bezos’ biological father, Ted Jorgensen

The biological father of Jeff Bezos, Ted Jorgensen, was born Theodore Jorgensen in 1944. He was reportedly a unicycle hockey player and the first president of the Albuquerque Unicycle Club, which was the world's first unicycle hockey club.

According to Daily Mail, when he became a father to Jeff Bezos in 1964, he was striving his way to success as a unicyclist. He was 18, and they lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico. While his mother, Jacklyn Bezos, was 17, as per his Instagram post. They remained married as teenagers but divorced after 17 months of their marriage in 1965. Bezos was only 1 year old at the time. He was named as Jeffrey Preston Jorgensen, as per the Lad Bible.

A report in People magazine mentioned that their relationship was troubled from the beginning, and they faced financial troubles. Ted Jorgensen performed in a unicycle troupe and then worked at a department store that paid $1.25 an hour.

Jeff Bezos’ mother later married Miguel 'Mike' Bezos in April 1968. She requested Ted to hand over the custody of their son to him, to which he agreed. In an interview with Inside Edition in 2014, Ted Jorgensen recalled the time he last saw his son. He said:

“I was working in a Walmart and I remember them coming to visit me for some reason. It was cold and he had his little winter coat on, and I just remember him walking down the aisle coming to see me.”

For many years, Jorgensen remained unaware of his son’s whereabouts until he was told by the author and journalist, Brad Stone, in 2012 that he was the son of the internet billionaire. In his chat with Stone for his book, The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon, he said:

“I didn't know where he was, if he had a good job or not, or if he was alive or dead.”

He was then shown photos of his son, and he was left in disbelief. He told him that over the years, he had forgotten the new surname his son had taken. He admitted in the 2014 interview that not having a relationship with his son was “a big mistake”.

During that time, Ted Jorgensen was battling emphysema, and he expressed his desire to reconnect with his son. However, his dream never came true as he was not able to meet his son until he died in 2015.

Jeff Bezos considers his father, Miguel Bezos, as his ‘natural’ father and his inspiration. In an interview with Wired magazine in 1999, he said:

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“The reality, as far as I’m concerned, is that my Dad is my natural father. The only time I ever think about it, genuinely, is when a doctor asks me to fill out a form.”

Miguel is a Cuban immigrant who moved to the United States in 1962 at age 16. He met Jacklyn when they were both working at the Bank of New Mexico. However, as per CNBC, she met him while attending night classes at a local university in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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