Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos announced he will be stepping down as the chief executive officer in a press release.

Jeff Bezos

Jeffrey Preston Bezos aka Jeff Bezos is an American internet entrepreneur, industrialist, media proprietor, and investor. He is the founder and CEO of the multinational technology company Amazon. He founded Amazon in late 1994, on a cross-country road trip from New York City to Seattle. The company began as an online bookstore and has since expanded to a wide variety of other e-commerce products and services, including video and audio streaming, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. It is currently the world’s largest online sales company, the largest Internet company by revenue, and the world’s largest provider of virtual assistants and cloud infrastructure services through its Amazon Web Services branch.

Holding a degree in Electrical Engineering and computer science, Jeff Bezos is the first centi-billionaire on the Forbes wealth index and was named the “richest man in modern history” after his net worth increased to $150 billion in July 2018. He became the first person in history to have a net worth exceeding $200 billion and as of January 2021, was reported to be the second-richest person in the world, after Elon Musk.

He worked on Wall Street in a variety of related fields from 1986 to early 1994. Bezos founded the aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company Blue Origin in 2000. Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle reached space in 2015, and afterward successfully landed back on Earth. The company has upcoming plans to begin commercial suborbital human spaceflight. He also purchased the major American newspaper “The Washington Post” in 2013 for $250 million, and manages many other investments through his Bezos Expeditions venture capital firm.

Jeff Bezos Steps down as Amazon’s CEO

According to the recent press release, Jeff Bezos is stepping down as Amazon CEO and taking on the role of executive chairman of Amazon’s executive board, but the billionaire magnate is making it clear that he’s not ready for retirement just yet.

His official statement

“Amazon is what it is because of invention. We do crazy things together and then make them normal. We pioneered customer reviews, 1-Click, personalized recommendations, Prime’s insanely-fast shipping, Just Walk Out shopping, the Climate Pledge, Kindle, Alexa, marketplace, infrastructure cloud computing, Career Choice, and much more. If you do it right, a few years after a surprising invention, the new thing has become normal. People yawn. That yawn is the greatest compliment an inventor can receive. When you look at our financial results, what you’re actually seeing are the long-run cumulative results of invention. Right now I see Amazon at its most inventive ever, making it an optimal time for this transition.”

“As Exec Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions,” Bezos said in an email to Amazon employees, also called Amazonians.

He further said, “Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it’s consuming. When you have a responsibility like that, it’s hard to put attention on anything else.” As executive chair, Bezos said he plans to “stay engaged in Amazon initiatives,” but also put energy into his “other passions,” like “the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post,” to name a few. “As much as I still tap dance into the office, I’m excited about this transition,” he said.

Leaving people guessing things on their own…

In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bezos’ net worth skyrocketed, as the quarantined masses were stuck ordering goods from Amazon due to store closures. His $113 billion fortune nearly doubled to $203.1 billion in the last year alone, which is truly an incomprehensible sum of money.

Well, Amazon will still have Jeff’s input moving forward as he plans to stay involved with the company’s upcoming rollouts. Bezos said, “In the Exec Chair role, I intend to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives.” 

Who is Andy Jassy?

Jeff will be replaced as CEO by longtime lieutenant Andy Jassy, who made his mark as the leader of Amazon’s fast-growing cloud business; Andy an American businessman. He is also one of the minority owners of the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League. Jassy has led AWS since its inception in 2003. Jassy will replace Jeff Bezos as CEO of Amazon in the third quarter of 2021; Bezos will become executive chairman.

Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky said, “Andy has a chance to put his imprint on Amazon. Andy of course brings his own skill set. He’s a visionary leader in his own right, a great operator; he understands what makes Amazon such a special, innovative place. So we’re expecting a lot of continuity.”

He added, “We certainly have a transition to make on the AWS business, but we expect that will be handled well, as well. And we’ll look forward to this new leadership profile we have.”

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