At the time Jeff Bezos was just your more typical, nerdy, Honda Accord-driving billionaire who sold books over the internet. Compared to where the company is now, this was the humble beginnings.
Keen to convey a sense of bewilderment verging on complete incredulity, 60 Minutes reporter Bob Simon points out the nondescript Amazon offices next to a "porno parlour" and "heroin needle exchange".
"We didn't see anything vaguely cutting edge," he says.
Once inside, the pair discuss his less-than-impressive homemade desk and the fact Bezos didn't have much success with the opposite sex as a young man.
"Socially, I was a little awkward, would be one way to put it," he says, exploding with his well documented laugh.
"Remember, this guys is a titan of our time, a giant," the reporter says in the voice-over, as if needing to convince the viewer of the unbelievable.
Early on in the conversation, the Amazon founder talks about what went into his decision to start the company.
"The way I made a decision to leave Wall Street and do this, and it will sound geeky to you, but it was a regret minimisation framework," he said.
"This is actually how I made the decision. I wanted to live my life in such a way that when I'm 80 years old, I've minimsed the number of regrets I have." Or as the kids say: YOLO.
As the 1999 version of Jeff Bezos admits, it might be a dorky way of putting it, but let this be your daily dose of inspiration.
If you're in a job that you don't love but you think you've got a million dollar idea, remember the "regret minimisation framework".
And maybe one day you'll be worth $130 billion, like Jeff.
