Jeff Bezos Would Have Named Amazon As ‘Relentless’ But Then Someone Said It Sounded Sinister — He’s Since Built A Business Empire That Knows No Limits

Back in 1994, Jeff Bezos almost called Amazon something entirely different — “Relentless.”

What Happened: Bezos loved the name so much that he even registered relentless.com (go ahead, type it in your browser — it still redirects to Amazon today).

But here’s the thing — his friends weren’t exactly thrilled with the name. They thought it sounded a bit too aggressive, maybe even sinister.

So Bezos went back to the drawing board and eventually landed on “Amazon,” inspired by the world’s largest river — a pretty fitting name for what would become the world’s largest online marketplace.

See Also: Jeff Bezos Described His Unique Life Philosophy Which Follows A Dorky Framework Revolving ‘Regret Minimization’

Why It’s Important: The irony? While Bezos didn’t end up using the name “Relentless,” it turned out to be a pretty spot-on description of how he’s built his business empire. What started as an online bookstore has grown into… well, just about everything.

For instance, while Bezos isn’t the CEO of Amazon anymore, he continues to stay involved with the company as executive chairman. He is also the e-commerce giant’s largest shareholder.

In the year 2000, he decided to shoot for the stars. The tech mogul founded aerospace company Blue Origin, a rival of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, that aims to reduce space travel costs and increase safety.

In 2013, Bezos acquired The Washington Post for $250 million. This purchase also contributed to intensifying the rift between Bezos and Musk.

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Other companies that were acquired by Amazon include Whole Foods Market, Audible, Zappos and Twitch.

In 2023, Amazon also entered the healthcare arena by acquiring a primary healthcare provider One Medical for $3.9 billion.

And that’s not even counting all the companies he’s invested in, including Airbnb, Uber, and Nextdoor, to name a few.

Amazon currently has a market capital of $1.984 trillion, making it the fourth most valuable company in the world after Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Alphabet. Meanwhile, Bezos’ net worth has reached $212 billion, bringing him second to Musk on the rank of Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index.

As Bezos continues pushing boundaries with space exploration and healthcare ventures, that rejected name from 1994 feels less like a dodged bullet and more like a blueprint for his entire career. Who knew a rejected domain name could tell such a story?

Image via Shutterstock

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.