Living next to Jeff Bezos: Why the billionaire’s neighbors don’t like him

Every spring, the residents of Hunts Point, a neighborhood in Seattle, gather for the so-called Cleaning day.

Hedge fund managers, tech titans and high-powered lawyers team up to plant trees, weed gardens and pick up trash.

There is a continental breakfast, BBQ lunch and a bouncy house for the kids.

However, one resident of the neighborhood is always absent: Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and one of the richest people on the planet.

“I’ve seen billionaires pick up trash on Cleanup Day. But not Jeff Bezos,” one resident told Business Insider.

Hunts Point is an upscale area with a population of less than 400, east of Seattle. It is no stranger to billionaires and the business elite, with former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Costco co-founder James Sinegal among its residents.

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In 2019, there’s a new billionaire in town: Bezos.

He bought a $37.5 million waterfront mansion after his divorce from writer Mackenzie Scott, as well as three smaller homes nearby for his staff, Business Insider added. 4 years later, Bezos announced that he was leaving the Seattle area to make Miami his new residence.

Hunts Point residents will remember him not only for his perpetual absence on Cleanup Day, but also for July 4th and fundraising events for local charity Bellevue Lifespring. (Although he did not attend the events, Bezos made a donation to Lifespring, two residents involved with the charity said.)

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But Bezos’ employees are a constant part of the neighborhood. His chef prepares meals in a more modest house south of the peninsula and delivers them to Bezos’ main residence in a “very cute” golf cart, another resident said.

Bezos’ bodyguards lived in a house overlooking the neighborhood’s only entrance and exit. They were pleasant neighbors. “We felt a lot safer knowing that all these people were guarding his property,” said another resident.

The added security sometimes created complications.

Twice, Bezos’ bodyguards called the police to report suspicious people who, after police questioned them, turned out to be employees and subcontractors of other ultra-wealthy people on the street, Business Insider added.

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Now, Bezos’ absence won’t be particularly notable to his now-former neighbors, given that he’s not the only billionaire in the neighborhood.

Steve Ballmer, for example, also owns three-digit billions. His wealth is estimated at $129 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Unlike Bezos, the main gates to his home are kept open, says one resident. His property is registered in his name, not in a maze of companies, county records show.

In addition, he opens the door himself and does not rely on staff for this.

“I don’t have anything to tell you,” Ballmer is terse and quickly shuts the door when Business Insider knocks to ask how he got along with his neighbor Bezos.