Jeff Bezos steps down as Amazon CEO
By Marc Arcas
San Francisco, Jul 5 (EFE).- Jeff Bezos, US business magnate and founder of Amazon, stepped down on Monday as CEO of the multinational technology company.
His close confidant Andy Jassy, ??who has led the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing platforms since 2003, is taking over the title after Bezos spent 27 years at the helm of the company.
Bezos, the richest person in the world according to the Forbes Billionaires 2021 list, will leave his day-to-day management at Amazon but will remain the company’s largest individual shareholder with 52.4 million shares, representing more than 10% of total ownership.
The US billionaire revealed his intentions earlier this year that he was going to withdraw from the Amazon frontline.
A few months later in early May, he sold 739,000 of his Amazon shares and announced during the company’s shareholders meeting that the transition of power will take place on July 5, coinciding with the 27th founding anniversary of the world’s largest online retailer.
“When you look at our financial results, what you are actually seeing are the long-term, cumulative results of the invention. Right now, I see Amazon being more inventive than ever, which is the optimal conditions for making this transition,” Bezos pointed out in a letter to the company’s investors.
Bezos’ influence on the company’s decision-making process will remain intact but said he will spend more time focusing on philanthropic and management initiatives of his other companies, namely aerospace company Blue Origin as well as The Washington Post.
On July 20, Bezos, his brother Mark and 82-year-old female pilot Wally Funk will go on Blue Origin’s first human flight into space, a trip that the US investor said was a dream of his since he was five years old.
According to the Forbes list, Bezos is leaving his post with a fortune of $177 billion, including $170 billion made up of Amazon shares.
