Jeff Bezos’ father fled Cuba alone at 16 with just three shirts — and spoke no English. He later helped fund Amazon

​So, when they heard about Operation Pedro Pan — where the U.S. State Department and Catholic Charities of Miami brought in thousands of unaccompanied Cuban children — they saw an opportunity.

​As he recalled in a 2016 interview with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, Miguel “had no desire of leaving Cuba” and “never thought of coming to the United States.” However, his parents saw sending Miguel to America as the way to open doors for his future.

​Miguel explained their thinking: “If you leave then we can figure out whether we can leave or not or you come back so, it was… it was a little bit of logic to it in terms of allowing them to have a little more flexibility in what options their family would have if I were able to be out of the country.”

​His parents also didn’t plan for the separation to last forever. As Miguel said, “This was a very temporary decision. It was just going to be for a few months or a few years and then you’ll be able to come back and we’ll be reunited.”

​Over 60 years later, Miguel still hasn’t moved back to his Cuban hometown.

​Arriving alone in a new home

​On July 21, 1962, Miguel arrived in Miami with no English skills and only a “little suitcase” containing a jacket made by his mom and sister, three shirts, three pairs of pants and one pair of shoes. He was 16.

​From Miami, Miguel was sent with 17 other Cuban children to a Catholic high school in Wilmington, Delaware, under the care of a priest. He later moved to Washington, D.C. and eventually got his first jobs at a bank and McDonald’s.

​But Miguel wanted more. So, he began searching for colleges offering scholarships to Cuban refugees and got accepted to the University of Albuquerque. Besides studying and working, Miguel added family life to his already hectic schedule. It was here that he met Jackie, who had a son from her previous marriage: Jeff.

​Miguel graduated with a degree in mathematics and got his big career break when he started working for Exxon in various engineering and managerial roles for 32 years.

​When asked whether anything could have made his transition into American life easier, Miguel said he was mostly “grateful” for all the help he had along the way. As he told the Smithsonian, “I’m sure that you know somebody possibly could have done more, but I can’t…imagine that being the case.”

​From the American dream to the Amazon empire

​Miguel’s story is amazing without any additions — but even he couldn’t fathom how successful his adopted son would become.

​Jeff Bezos was already working at an investment firm in New York City when the idea of creating an online bookstore seized his imagination. As he recalled in his 2020 testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives, his boss took him for a long walk through Central Park after Bezos told him he was quitting.

“You know what, Jeff, I think this is a good idea, but it would be a better idea for somebody who didn’t already have a good job,” his boss advised.