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Jacklyn Gise Bezos, the mother of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has died at the age of 78 following a long battle with Lewy body dementia, her son announced in an Instagram post shared on Thursday (August 15).
"Her adulthood started a little bit early when she became my mom at the tender age of 17," Jeff Bezos wrote. "That couldn’t have been easy, but she made it all work. She pounced on the job of loving me with ferocity, brought my amazing dad onto the team a few years later, and then added my sister and brother to her list of people to love, guard, and nourish. For the rest of her life, that list of people to love never stopped growing. She always gave so much more than she ever asked for.
"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."
"I love you, mom," he concluded.
Jacklyn and Mike Bezos -- who adopted Jeff at the age of 4 upon marrying his mother -- together founded the Bezos Family Foundation with their children and their families in 2000. The matriarch dedicated her focus to Vroom, a global early learning initiative with an emphasis on brain research and the Bezos Scholars Program, which supports students in the United States and Africa, according to her obituary on the organization's website.
"Together, we can change the trajectory of an entire generation. We are not building brains -- we are building the future. Each of us has a role to play, and it will take all of us to really make a difference," Jackie said, according to the Bezos Family Foundation.
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994, initially as an online marketplace for books, having since grown to one of the Big Five American technology companies. The 61-year-old is reported to have a net worth of $243.6 billion, making him the fourth-richest person alive, according to Forbes.