While Jeff Bezos has spent $14 billion to achieve his first space launch, his billionaire rival has built a thriving business, mostly with other people’s money.

Watch as Amazon boss Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin attempted to launch its New Glenn rocket for the first time from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Monday, 13 January. It was to be the long-delayed debut launch of Mr Bezos's challenge to SpaceX's dominance in the satellite launch market.

Jeff Bezos, the second richest man in the world, successfully blasted off a 320-foot-tall rocket ship made by his Blue Origin company from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the early hours of the morning. It made the company the first to successfully reach orbit on its first launch of an orbital-class rocket.

Despite the failure, Elon Musk appeared to see the bright side, posting: "Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!"

Hours after Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin nailed its first-ever orbital mission, SpaceX seized back the spotlight on Thursday as its latest test of Starship, its gargantuan next-generation mega rocket, ended with the upper stage dramatically disintegrating over the Atlantic.

Project Kuiper, as it is known, will see Amazon launch thousands of satellites into low Earth orbit to form a constellation similar to SpaceX’s Starlink internet network. SpaceX has already deployed more than 7,000 Starlink satellites, which deliver high-speed internet to 95 countries around the world.

Blue Ghost and New Glenn started off the year right. Many more launches are on the way, and many can be watched online.

Elon Musk took to X to share GIFs from the movie "Step Brothers," comparing himself and fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos to the film's two main characters after Bezos's space company, Blue Origin, successfully launched its first rocket into orbit.

Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, known for their business rivalry, exchanged congratulatory messages after successful rocket launches by Blue Origin and Spac

Biden's farewell speech warning that oligarchs pose a threat to democracy has echoed a growing problem in the world, economic and historical experts say.