Billionaire Jeff Bezos has famously been working on trying to reverse the aging process – and if the latest images of the Amazon tycoon are anything to go by, his efforts are paying off.
The 59-year-old businessman, alongside his glamorous fiancée Lauren Sanchez 53, recently appeared in a Vogue photoshoot. The pair got engaged in May, after Jeff popped the question to his Emmy winning journalist girlfriend on board his $500million superyacht.
An image from the Vogue photoshoot of the couple attracted a huge amount of attention when it was shared on the magazine’s Instagram platform, with social media users commenting on Jeff’s appearance, which has undergone major changes in recent years.
In fact, his commitment to creating a whole new look seems like it’s been a key focus for Jeff over the last few years, with many first noticing that he was starting to look buff following Amazon’s nearly $14million acquisition of health-conscious grocer Whole Foods in 2017.
While it’s not known for certain when Jeff and Lauren’s relationship started, it is believed to have commenced before Jeff and his ex-wife MacKenzie Scott announced in January 2019 they would be divorcing after some 25 years together. Since parting ways, the two parties have gone in vastly different directions.
Jeff Bezos pictured with then-wife MacKenzie Scott at the 2018 Vanity Fair Oscar Party. The couple announced their split in early 2019
Since their split, MacKenzie (pictured, left) has vowed to give away the majority of her wealth (pictured at Princeton, dedicating the naming of a hall).
MacKenzie Scott became the world’s richest woman when she divorced the Amazon founder in 2019 and walked away with $28.9 billion. She has since made many headlines. Some are due to her remarrying before divorcing again this year.
The 52-year-old finalised her second divorce in January – less than two years after marrying a chemistry teacher at her child’s private school.
She wed teacher Dan Jewett in March 2021, two years after Bezos was exposed having an affair with then-mistress Lauren Sanchez, who is now his partner.
However, the bulk of the attention has been on MacKenzie’s philanthropic work, after she pledged to give away the bulk of her fortune.
She became the world’s richest woman when she divorced Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in 2019
Since then she has devoted herself to giving away her fortune, publishing biannual letters detailing her donations and usually listing the organisations.
While MacKenzie is now ranked as one of the world’s most powerful philanthropists, having already given away 20 percent of her net worth, her ex-husband is comparatively new to the idea.
Jeff and MacKenzie have made headlines for different reasons since their split (pictured with Lauren at the Amazon Prime Video celebration in Mumbai in January 2020)
And while he has pledged to give away the majority of his fortune, and has committed to philanthropy, in the meantime, he has become better recognised for other issues.
Among them is his upcoming nuptials to Lauren. Speaking recently to Vogue magazine, the couple admitted that with just five months having passed since their engagement, they had not made many wedding plans.
And in addition, Jeff admitted he was unlikely to get involved.
However, as Vogue shared some of this information about its chat with Jeff and Lauren on Instagram, alongside an image of the couple, it wasn’t so much the wedding talk that was peaking social media users’ interest.
Rather, much of the conversation centred on the Amazon tycoon’s look in the photograph.
The businessman – who is the third richest man in the world and has a reported net worth of $165 billion – is shown sitting in the front seat of a truck in the photo. Meanwhile, his partner Lauren wraps her arms around his neck as she sits on his lap, in a pose that shows off both of their impressive builds.
Many Instagram users noticed Jeff’s huge biceps in the photograph, with some even suggesting publication have retouched the images in an effort to make his arms look bigger.
But what cannot be denied is that the mogul has made a major change to his overall appearance – and it is not computer generated.
In recent years, the Amazon billionaire has overhauled his whole look, overhauling his once much lankier physique, ditching his monobrow, and losing his receding hairline in favour of an action hero-style buzzcut (think Vin Diesel).
And according to reports, the change is no accident, but rather the result of some careful dieting, hair and fashion styling, working out, and maintaining a healthy sleep schedule.
And it didn’t go unnoticed that entrepreneur’s makeover seemed to start after Amazon’s nearly $14 billion acquisition of health-conscious grocer Whole Foods in 2017 – following which, he debuted muscular arms in a form-fitting vest.
In fact, the acquisition of Whole Foods has been credited for his makeover, with Jeff, who split from ex-wife MacKenzie Scott in 2019, admitting that he had never read a nutrition label until he was approaching middle-age.
Not only has the mogul seemingly become far more astute when it comes to reading food labels, according to reports, one of the biggest and more noticeable changes when it comes to his appearance is his physique, suggesting that working out has become an important part of his life.
Billionaire beefs up the brawn
One of the biggest changes to Jeff Bezos’ overall look is his more muscular physique (pictured on a Caribbean vacation in 2021)
Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos (pictured here in 1997) is barely recognisable these days, with a new hair do, wardrobe, and buff physique
Jeff Bezos (snapped with his fiance Lauren Sanchez at the Tom Ford A/W20 show in Hollywood) shows off a more developed physique than in his younger years
The once scrawny bookstore boss, who bore a lankey physique in the 1990s, is now positively buff at the age of 59.
Most would likely agree that the biggest change to Bezos’ image in recent years is his beefed-up frame – suggesting he’s been hitting the gym to build up some serious muscle.
Photographs from his younger days as a brick-and-mortar book store owner show Jeff looking a little rounder in the face, but far less muscular overall.
On top of becoming more health conscious since the 2017 Whole Foods purchase, Jeff can reportedly also credit some of his transformation to an A-list personal trainer.
Wes Okerson, who has helped Tom Cruise, Gerard Butler, and Isla Fisher get in peak physical shape for their movie roles, has worked with the Amazon mogul.
It is thought that their plan together includes embracing low-impact weight and resistance training as well as a nutritious diet replete with protein and healthy fats.
It is not known when the pair started to work together, but photos showing Jeff holidaying in St Barts in 2021 suggest he’s been working hard to beef up.
In fact, the images set the internet ablaze, prompting rumours that the two had been training for months leading up to the trip.
Wes Okerson is an avid believer in low-impact, high-resistance exercises such as rowing that incorporate weight training to build up strength and stamina over time.
He also encourages his clients to bring their workouts outside. Running up and down hills, kayaking, rowing, and paddleboarding are said to be among his and Jeff’s favorites.
Diet changes – from cookies to octopus
In 2017 Bezos appeared more muscular than usual when he was snapped at a business conference in Idaho. His new physique is the result of dietary and exercise changes
A major part of any physical transformation is diet, and that is certainly reportedly the case when it comes to Jeff’s physique.
According to reports, the personal trainer he has worked with – Wes Okerson – is a fan of the keto diet, which involves a higher proportion of fat, moderate protein, and lower proportion of carbohydrates.
With Wes being a fan of the diet, it would make sense that Jeff would adopt a more keto-friendly diet, and it has been said that he eats a protein-heavy diet combined with foods that contain healthy fats such as avocados.
One of Jeff’s preferred diets is believed to be Mediterranean octopus that includes potatoes, bacon, green garlic yogurt.
This is a major departure from his previous way of eating, which, in 2017, he described as ‘extremely unhealthy’, revealing that he would eat an entire container of Pillsbury biscuits in a sitting.
‘I had never read a nutrition label in my life; I ate what tasted good to me,’ he said.
However, he is still believed to indulge in junk food sometimes.
In 2018 he posted a snap of Cheeto dust-laden fingers with the caption: ‘I know… but god I love Cheetos.’
And in 2022, he showed himself chowing down on a McDonald’s burger, saying: ‘My first job. Still the same great burger! Happy Sunday!’
Taking a razor to those locks
Jeff (seen with Lauren in 2021) decided to shave his locks and neaten up his monobrow, giving him a much sharper look overall
Photos of Jeff Bezos taken in the 90s paint a very different picture to images snapped now.
They show him wearing classic 90s business attire of a shirt and high-waisted chino pants.
And they also show his light brown hair, which is receding, as well as a monobrow.
Comparing those snaps to now, you can see he has a much edgier look, with a shaved head befitting of an action hero, and well-groomed eyebrows.
Trading up that wardrobe
However, in recent times, he has started opted for a cooler wardrobe, dressing down in style classics like this fitted black t-shirt (pictured in St Barts with Lauren)
Another big difference between the 90s photos of Jeff and his look today is his style when it comes to his wardrobe.
Far gone are the nondescript chinos, and in their place are threads that are more eye-catching.
In fact, some of his clothes are so eye-catching, at times he’s actually been known for his love of sporting an outlandish dinner jacket when it comes to gala dinners and red carpet events.
However, there’s been a sea change in recent years, with his wardrobe apparently becoming cooler, with fashionable Hawaiian-inspired swim shorts, flip flops and slimming black t-shirts his go-to attire in the Caribbean.
His space suit hasn’t harmed his image either; the Blue Origin founder regularly wears his space outfit with a stetson or a baseball cap.
Adding more zzzzs to his regimen
While it may be less obvious a choice to make when it comes to health than diet and exercise, Jeff Bezos has spoken out about how getting enough sleep helps him perform at his best (pictured here with Lauren at the Robin Hood Benefit 2022 at Jacob Javits Center in New York)
While changes like upping the exercise and watching the diet are obvious ones when it comes to a major transformation like Jeff’s, another change he has reportedly made to his life is making sure he gets more sleep.
While there is some debate around the exact impact of sleep deprivation, a mountain of clinical evidence points to the necessity of sleep. Healthy sleep is critical for cognitive functioning, mood, mental health, and cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and metabolic health.
Jeff Bezos understands that good sleep hygiene is tantamount to physical exercise when it comes to health. He told a conference at the Economic Club in 2018 that he routinely gets eight hours of quality sleep, with the exception of travel across time zones, as global billionaires are wont to do.
At the Washington DC conference he said: ‘For me, I need eight hours of sleep. I think better, I have more energy, my mood is better, all these things.’
He also alluded to the fact that as he and his business have become wildly successful, he increasingly understands the importance of good sleep, especially for a high-power executive who regularly makes decisions with millions of dollars at stake.