DER SPIEGEL - The German View

DER SPIEGEL - The German View

The Bizarre Transformation of Jeff Bezos

Once a widely admired entrepreneur and a fierce Trump opponent, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has recently reinvented himself as a jet-setting playboy. Has he abandoned his ideals in the process?

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DER SPIEGEL
Apr 13, 2026
∙ Paid
(Photo: Ernesto Ruscio / Getty Images)

By Simon Book

It’s 5:30 a.m., and they’re already lining up outside America’s most exclusive address. Dented pickup trucks and older compact cars wait patiently in the palm-lined driveway. Windows are rolled down, and access cards are extended. A quick glance at the duty officer of the private security detail, and the gate opens. The staff members make their way across a bridge that could be mistaken for something out of Venice and onto the private island of Indian Creek. Gardeners, housekeepers, dog sitters.

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