Jeff Bezos

Sports and television celebrity Michael Strahan and Laura Shepard Churchley, daughter of astronaut Alan Shepard were among the six on board

The private space company owned by billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos blasted off from a launch site north of Van Horn, Texas Tuesday morning, with Bezos and his brother on board, as well as the oldest and youngest people to ever fly into space.

Billionaire Jeff Bezos’ flight to the edge of space with his brother and two other passengers has put this tiny West Texas town in the national spotlight.

Bezos is handing day-to-day duties to his longtime deputy Andy Jassy but will continue to hold considerable sway as executive chairman.

It’s the latest multimillion-dollar donation that Scott, who owns 4% of Amazon and used to be married to its founder, Jeff Bezos, has given to colleges and universities across the state and country.

The Amazon CEO and four other billionaires are part of the world's most exclusive club in the midst of the pandemic: those whose fortunes exceed $100 billion.