Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, takes the stage at the America Business Forum at the Kaseya Center in Miami in Nov. 6, 2025.
Pedro Portal
pportal@miamiherald.com
Jeff Bezos reporting for duty. Jury duty, that is.
On Monday, the king of Amazon fulfilled his civic responsibility in his hometown. The Palmetto Senior High alum, in a black polo, dark jeans and sunglasses, was seen exiting the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building west of downtown and entering a waiting vehicle.
The local businessman smiled and waved to the crowd, but did not respond to a question about last week’s crash involving an Amazon-branded cargo plane at Miami International Airport. The jet, traveling from San Juan, Puerto Rico, overshot the runway, killing five people and injuring another five. On Sunday evening, Amazon confirmed it suspended operations with cargo carrier 21 Air following the tragedy.
Whether Bezos will be chosen to sit on a jury, hear a criminal case and come up with a verdict is unknown. Juror information is kept private, and Bezos wasn’t doing any talking.
The 62-year-old does indeed meet the qualifications: He’s an over-18 U.S. citizen who is a resident of the court’s district and is also proficient in English, mentally competent and doesn’t have any criminal convictions.
If his selection occurs, we think the Internet mogul will be OK missing a few days off from work, unlike most folks in this economy. (Jurors’ pay in Florida starts at just $15 a day, plus mileage reimbursement).
As of Monday afternoon, according to Forbes’ real time billionaire list, the Indian Creek Village resident is the third-richest man in the world, worth $271.5 billion. Bezos’ spot is just behind Google cofounder Larry Page at No. 2 (284.6B), and tech titan Elon Musk, who reigns at No. 1. with $930B.
So, let that be a lesson to you: Just because you’ve got boatloads of money doesn’t mean you get to ignore that official looking summons in the mail.
This story was originally published September 14, 2026 at 4:12 PM.
Miami Herald
Celebrity/real time news reporter Madeleine Marr has been with The Miami Herald since 2003. She has covered such features as travel, fashion and food. In 2007, she helped launch the newspaper’s daily People Page, attending red carpet events, awards ceremonies and press junkets; interviewing some of the biggest names in show business; and hosting her own online show. She is originally from New York City.