Jeff Bezos tweets 1999 magazine article predicting Amazon failure, Elon Musk awards him a silver medal
In 1999, an American magazine predicted the Amazon stock market crash, calling founder Jeff Bezos a mere “middlemanâ€. Now, nearly a decade after the article was published, Bezos – who is among the richest people in the world – reshared the news clipping.
The article titled “Amazon.bomb” appeared in the US weekly Barron’s on May 31, 1999 and predicted the fall in the company’s stock in the face of increasing competition from direct sellers.
“The idea that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos pioneered a new business paradigm is silly,†the article began featuring a cartoon of Bezos inside a bomb. Dismissing him as “just another middleman,” the article goes on to call direct sellers the “real winners” of the Internet boom. “Net will be companies that sell their own products directly to consumers.”
Read the whole post here:
Listen and be open, but don’t let anyone tell you who you are. This was just one of many stories telling us all about the ways we were going to fail. Today, Amazon is one of the most successful companies in the world and has revolutionized two completely different industries. pic.twitter.com/MgMsQHwqZl
– Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) October 11, 2021
While clearly the prediction didn’t come true, Bezos used the magazine cover to tweet an inspiring message. “Listen and be open, but don’t let anyone tell you who you are. This was just one of many stories telling us all of the ways we were going to fail. Today, Amazon is one of the most successful companies in the world and has revolutionized two completely different industries.
The tweet also received a response from Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who mocked Amazon founder and responded with a silver medal emoji.
For those who don’t know, in September of this year, Musk became the third person to raise a $ 200 billion fortune, overtaking Bezos to become the richest man in the world, according to Forbes. In an email interview with the website, Musk had responded that he would send a giant statue of the “number ‘2’ to Jeffrey B., along with a silver medal.”
??
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 11, 2021
Since being shared online, the post has gone viral on social media and sparked a plethora of reactions online.
A good reminder that we’ve all been there at one point or another in our lives. I wasn’t a huge fan until I looked at Amazon’s humble beginnings: it’s a shame that persistence and innovation are now seen as shameful.
Envy is a truly destructive force. pic.twitter.com/3na9ty3cya
– Landrew (@AndrewSea) October 11, 2021
The deeper the doubts, the sweeter the success. https://t.co/dgrbu6yB3d
– Reed Hastings (@reedhastings) October 11, 2021
Timing is essential: https://t.co/vNBptW2pWq https://t.co/xKg35tA4Lt
– Kara Swisher (@karaswisher) 12 October 2021
Futurism is hard but pessimism is easy
People become defenders of the status quo often not even because of the incentives but because they hate a wealth creation philosophy https://t.co/W9PKMJV6gP
– Zhu Su (@zhusu) 12 October 2021
Inspirational tips on how to deal with criticism with a touch of intelligent and nuanced emotional perspective! Thanks Jeff! ï¸â€ðŸ”¥
Confuse them with your silence, shock them with your results. -Someone
Phew. #HODLAssets https://t.co/AX5EDRpf3E
– Jenny Q Ta (@JQT_CoinLinked) 12 October 2021
“Inspirational advice on how to handle criticism with a touch of intelligent and nuanced emotional perspective!” Thanks, Jeff! One user wrote, retweeting the viral post.
