Jeff Bezos — Amazon.com Inc.

Founder and Chief Executive

THE LATEST: Last February Bezos announced plans to step down as chief executive of the ecommerce giant in the third quarter of 2021. He will be replaced by Amazon Web Services Chief Executive Andy Jassy. Bezos’ new role will be as executive chair of the Amazon board, and he will stay engaged through his Day 1 Fund’s philanthropy efforts, the Bezos Earth Fund to combat climate change, his aerospace company Blue Origin, his Washington Post media business, and his other passions, he wrote in a memo to staff.
BACKGROUND: In 1994, Bezos founded Amazon in Bellevue, Wash., as an online bookstore. Three years later, it began trading on Nasdaq at $18 a share, for a valuation of $300 million. Amazon’s offerings expanded over time to include electronics, toys, kitchenware, furniture, clothing and groceries. In 2005, the company debuted Amazon Prime, a loyalty program that comes with free two-day shipping. Bezos owns the Warner Estate in Beverly Hills, which he purchased in 2020 from David Geffen for $165 million.
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