If you to want to know what makes Jeff Bezos tick, go back to the 1870s in American industry and read as much as you can over the next 30-40 years. You'll no doubt meet Jeff in a previous life. His "ruthless" nature is not unique - it's time-tested and proven. There are a lot of smart people - really smart people in business today who never approach his kind of "success." It's because most people have a sense of empathy that parallels their greed and excitement in creating something big and cool. And this slows down the inevitable carnage as one races to the top. Bezos benefits from not having this gene - which in his world is seen as a deterrent.

Does it make him bad or evil? Depends on how you define these terms. Does it make him good for the economy, good for the long-term health of America? I don't think so. But I'm biased. I like strolling through stores - having choices, seeing many people succeed.

To some, Bezos is a saint, to others, the devil. To really answer that question - wait a few years. The answer is there waiting for us to catch up to it.