Why is Jeff Bezos Stepping Down as Amazon CEO & What's Next for Him?

The billionaire entrepreneur has now planned a joy ride into space with his brother on 20 July.

Jeff Bezos, CEO, Amazon.

(Photo: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

World's richest man and the founder of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos has stepped down from the position of CEO, after 27 years of steering the company. Bezos will now take over as Amazon’s executive chairman and continue to be its biggest shareholder.

He has handed over the CEO reins to Andy Jassy, the head of Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Jassy is one of Bezos’ most trusted colleagues and was widely seen as his successor, ever since he started accompanying Bezos to all his meetings way back in 2003.

Building Amazon from Scratch

Bezos started Amazon.com, as an online bookstore at a small garage 27 years back, when he packaged book orders himself and delivered them to post offices.

The business took to new heights, slowly and steadily. Bezos expanded its business in the fields of e-commerce, artificial intelligence, cloud computing (now known as AWS), and digital streaming among many others.

A report by news agency AFP reveals that Amazon, which is often regarded as the most valuable brand on earth, now has a market value of over $1.7 trillion.

What Bezos Plans to Explore Now

Bezos chose 5 July as the date to step down for 'sentimental' reasons. In his last shareholder meeting as CEO, he said, "We chose that date because it's sentimental for me. It's the day Amazon was incorporated in 1994, exactly 27 years ago."

Earlier in February, Bezos had announced his decision to step down in a letter to Amazon employees, stating he now wants to focus on new products.

"Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it's consuming," Bezos has written in the letter.

Since the announcement of Jeff Bezos' stepping down as CEO surfaced online, the billionaire entrepreneur has been travelling extensively and sharing pictures and videos from his trips on social media. He has also planned a joy ride into the space on 20 July.

“Ever since I was five years old, I’ve dreamed of travelling to space. On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother. The greatest adventure, with my best friend.”

Jeff Bezos, Amazon, CEO

In an interview with The Atlantic, Bezos said that he always wanted to go to space himself, since he was 5 years old, as he watched Neil Armstrong walk on the surface of the moon.

The Bezos brothers will travel to space for 11 minutes and then return to Earth in a parachute landing in the West Texas desert. It is worth noting that Bezos on 20 July, will become the first person to fly on his own rocket to space.

Here what's Bezos has decided to do after stepping down as CEO:

• Day One Fund: Bezos' philanthropic initiative created by Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett to encourage the world’s wealthiest people to commit to giving at least half their wealth to charity.

  In 2018, he himself donated $2 bn, in a bid to help homeless people and improve education for children in low-income families.

• Bezos Earth Fund: A $10 bn initiative to support scientists, and working to tackle the climate crisis.

  “Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet. I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share. This global initiative will fund scientists, activists, NGOs – any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world. We can save Earth. It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organisations, and individuals. ⁣⁣Earth is the one thing we all have in common – let’s protect it, together", Bezos said in a statement to Washington Post.

• The Washington Post: Bezos bought the Washington Post, a daily news paper, in 2013 for $250m. After his appointment, reporters and editors had feared that the billionaire would interfere with editorial decision-making. However, now they say that the billionaire has never made any editorial decision but has only focused on the technology side of the business.

• Blue Origin: Bezos' space company, will be manufacturing space products at cheaper rates with reusable launch vehicles.

  The company is also auctioning a seat for the 20 July flight, which will host an 11-minute trip to space that will reach an altitude of about 100 km.

  The company plans to carry paying customers on a four-day space experience, including three days of pre-flight training at the company’s launch site near Van Horn, Texas.

How Rich Did Amazon Make Bezos?

Bezos’ net worth soared to $196 billion since the beginning of Amazon, as per a report by The Fox magazine. As much as 90 percent of his investment lies with Amazon, the report added.

He, however, pays less income tax. Billionaires like him derive little wealth from their annual income. Instead, all of their net worth is tied to stock holdings.

Data by ProPublica revealed that Bezos did not pay any federal tax in 2007, when he was a billionaire. He also did not pay federal tax in 2011, when his net worth was $18 billion.

Amazon After Bezos

Amazon will face new challenges, especially in emerging markets like India where new e-commerce draft rules threaten the company's own product lines.

The US Federal Trade Commission also said it will review Amazon’s proposed takeover of Hollywood MGM Studios as it aims to deliver a stronger challenge to the likes of Netflix and Disney.

The company has also been questioned regarding their working conditions. It will be interesting to see how Andy Jassy sails through these challenges.