Amazon has become the biggest online store with annual sales and profits trumping major retailers in the last 10 years. It took only 4 years for Amazon to transition from an online bookstore Jeff Bezos was managing inside of his tiny Seattle apartment to earning $61 Billion in revenue a year. It was originally called Cadabra but once it went online Bezos chose the name Amazon to give honor to the Amazons the legendary nation of female warriors in Greek mythology. Bezos net worth today is $28 Billion in 2013. But another key player in helping Amazon catapult is Joy Covey who passed away after being killed in a bicycling accident. She is survived by her son Tyler Covey. The 50 year old was the company’s first Chief Financial Officer.
- Education: Harvard Law and Business graduation 1990.
- Birthday: 1963
- Birthplace: San Mateo, California
- Children: Tyler 8 years old.
- Covey Husband: In 1995 she met her husband while she was working for Avid in Boston Massachusetts. He was a doctor and they immediately fell in love. He left his practice and moved to Silicon Valley with her before she joined Amazon. The couple has three homes, the house they bought in Seattle, a town house in Belmont, California and a ski house in Park City, Utah. They got married November 1999 Two dozen guests rode snowmobiles up to a clearing in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains where Covey, in black jeans, sweater and veil, took the vows. Afterwards, they retreated to a ski lodge for lunch. They later had a son Tyler in 2005.
Net Worth: $125 million
Joy Covey joined the legendary company in 1996 when the company wasn’t so hot. it was the early days of online retail and it was Covey’s job to convince investors to put more money into the company. Jeff Bezos was still operating the online site inside of his apartment and Covey went to Wall Street and convey the company’s message and goals to people who were still in the dark about the whole concept. Amazon was then a profitless company but Covey was able to entice hundreds of investors lifting the company off the ground. It was a very difficult job for Covey as the company was going through wavering financial stages. She still kept investors on board during Amazon’s financial decline in the 90′s. Amazon went public on May 14, 1997, with an initial public offering price of $18. Shares closed yesterday at a record $312.06. After leaving the company in 2000 Ms. Covey went on to hold that title along with vice president and other executive office until leaving the Seattle giant in April of 2000.
Amazon initially only sold books. Bezos sat down and created a list of 20 products that would sell online. He had previously read an article on the projection of online commerce. It was believed that eCommerce could grow 2,500% in the 90′s and Bezos saw an opportunity.
