Jeff Bezos’ Brother and Sister Each Bet $10,000 on Amazon When 40 Investors Said No — The Stake Grew 16,659,900% and Is Worth Over $1 Billion

Sometimes the biggest investment winners don’t come from Wall Street. They come from the family dinner table.

Before Amazon (AMZN) became one of the world’s most valuable companies, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos spent months trying to convince people to back an online bookstore that few believed had much of a future. He has said he pitched roughly 60 investors. About 40 declined. Only around 20 agreed to invest. Among them were his younger brother, Mark Bezos, and his sister, Christina Bezos Poore.