Amazon.com, Inc. founder Jeff Bezos’ fascination with precision timekeeping has evolved dramatically since he joked about his ultra-accurate watch in a 1999 interview.
Jeff Bezos’ ‘Nerdy’ Watch Revealed
When Bob Simon profiled Bezos in 1999 for 60 Minutes, Amazon was still primarily known as an online bookstore and Bezos was already comfortable embracing his geeky reputation.
Asked what kind of kid he had been, Bezos described himself as a hardworking, high-achieving student who was “nerdy.”
“I was nerdy, that hasn’t changed, by the way,” Bezos said while laughing.
Simon then asked whether Bezos had realized he was nerdy at the time.
Bezos’ answer offered a particularly fitting example: “My watch updates itself from the atomic clock 36 times a day, if that gives you any indication.”
From Atomic Time to a 10,000-Year Clock
More than two decades later, Bezos’ interest in clocks has taken a considerably longer-term turn.
He has backed the construction of the Clock of the Long Now, a mechanical timepiece designed to operate for 10,000 years. The billionaire has invested roughly $42 million in the project, a figure that has been widely cited over the years.
Bezos currently has a net worth of $272.4 billion, according to Forbes.
The concept was introduced in 1995 by computer scientist and inventor Danny Hillis to encourage people to think beyond short-term horizons.
Bezos and Hillis, who have been friends for years, discussed the idea in 2005. Construction eventually began inside a mountain on Bezos’ West Texas property, where engineers carved a roughly 500-foot-deep shaft to house the massive mechanism.
The clock is designed to tick just once each year, with its other mechanisms moving on similarly extraordinary timescales. It is intended not merely as a timekeeping device but as a physical reminder to consider the distant future.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo: lev radin on Shutterstock.com
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