Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin Raised $10 Billion at a $130 Billion Valuation
Jeff Bezos just opened Blue Origin to outside investors for the first time, and his own $2 billion investment may be the strongest signal yet that he believes the company's biggest growth is still ahead.
Overview
Jeff Bezos has bankrolled his rocket company Blue Origin almost single-handedly for a quarter century, quietly selling roughly $1 billion of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) stock a year to keep it flying. This week, he changed that playbook -- and told investors something in the process. Blue Origin is raising about $10 billion in its first-ever round of outside funding at a $130 billion valuation, and Bezos himself is writing a $2 billion check alongside the new backers.
The headline number to watch isn't the $130 billion valuation. It's the $2 billion that Bezos personally invested. It works out to less than 1% of his estimated net worth, but the gesture matters more than the math. A founder who chooses to invest his own money at the same time he's asking hedge funds and institutions to buy in is signaling that he expects the shares to be worth considerably more down the road. Coatue Management is reportedly leading the outside money with about $4 billion, with other large investors filling out the rest. After years of going it alone, Bezos is now willing to share the upside, which suggests he believes the business is finally at an inflection point.
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Originally published at www.fool.com.