From begging on the streets of New York to being an Amazon executive: an amazing success story

From homeless to powerful executive, this businessman is the embodiment of the American dream. The head of Amazon's external relations department spent the first 11 years of his life on the dirty streets of New York, reports New York Post.

David Ambrose, 42, grew up begging in New York City with his mentally ill mother and two siblings. And then he was adopted by a loving foster mother, and he began an incredible rise to the top.

“It was terrible,” the businessman candidly recalls homelessness in a new essay for Newsweek. “We slept in public places, shelters and churches. The stay there was too short and we always ended up homeless again.”

Ambrose reveals that he washed in the bathrooms of fast food restaurants. He also felt that the people of New York were indifferent to his suffering.

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Ambrose said he spent a day begging for money at Grand Central Station when he was only 4 years old. But wealthy commuters rushing to work on trains ignored him.

“I begged there often enough. But I remember that day well because no one was looking at me,” he writes. Hundreds of people passed by and did not pay attention to me. At that moment, I realized that my family was invisible to these people.”

The Amazon chief executive adds: “I was starving, dirty and covered in lice. But even then I knew that I would get out of this state.”

Ambrose's incredible story of perseverance is told in his new memoir, A Place Called Home, which even received Hillary Clinton's enthusiastic endorsement.

At the age of 12, he was given to a foster family. He spent years moving from house to house until he was adopted by a woman named Holly.

With little formal education, Ambrose studied hard with Holly's encouragement. And in the end he was given a grant to study abroad in Spain.

The life-changing trip helped the teenager score enough points to graduate from high school, and he was accepted to Vassar College.

“Education was my way out of poverty,” the man says.

Working on the Vassar campus landed Ambrose a coveted internship at the White House.

He soon received his Juris Doctor from UCLA Law School. And then he was hired by the ABC legal and business department.

In the end, Ambrose was assigned to head up corporate social responsibility at the Walt Disney Channel. This job allowed him to befriend some of the most powerful people in the world.

“For over ten years, I have led philanthropic work for the Disney television networks. I met famous and influential people. I had the chance to influence the story across networks,” he writes in his Newsweek essay.

At the end of last year, Ambrose moved to Amazon, where he now heads the external relations department.

For years, the businessman has struggled to rid himself of the stigma of homelessness. But he has since become a prominent supporter of foster care and now tells his story in full.

Ambrose even became a foster parent in an attempt to give other children the opportunities that Holly gave him.

“I got here today thanks to the rare angels who helped me, like my foster mom Holly,” he said. Not everyone can adopt or raise a child. But we can all try to raise awareness because we care.”