Bezos Steps Down as Amazon CEO on Company's 27th Anniversary

July 5 Amazon Founding Anniversary Marks Retirement
Moves to Board Chairman Position Afterwards

▲Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder [Image Source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO who made Amazon the world's largest e-commerce company, is stepping down from the front lines of management as the company marks its 27th anniversary.

In May, Bezos announced at Amazon's annual shareholders meeting that he would step down as CEO on July 5, the anniversary of Amazon's founding.

On the 4th (local time), The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an article titled "The Empire Built by Jeff Bezos," introducing his achievements both in business and personally.

Starting as an online bookstore, Amazon has endlessly expanded its business areas over the past 27 years, growing into a distribution giant. Currently, Amazon deals with books, groceries, pharmaceuticals, cloud computing, and entertainment businesses. According to market research firm eMarketer, Amazon controls about 41% of the online retail market.

Smart devices equipped with the company's voice assistant "Alexa," such as smart speakers and the streaming device "Fire TV," frequently rank among Amazon's best-selling products, boosted by discount benefits and more.

Amazon's appetite and influence, which crush existing competitors and dominate markets in every business it enters, have even spawned the neologism "Amazond" (meaning "collapsed by Amazon").

▲Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder [Image Source=Reuters Yonhap News]

This rapid expansion has become the driving force behind relentless and vigorous hiring.

Last year, amid soaring unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon hired over 500,000 new employees worldwide, including in the United States. It is also expected to surpass Walmart, the largest employer in the U.S., within a few years.

Amazon employs 950,000 people in the U.S. alone, of which about 130,000 are office workers.

Amazon ventured into film production by establishing "Amazon Studios" in 2010 and has achieved success in this field, winning Academy Awards and Golden Globes. Amazon is also pursuing the acquisition of MGM, the production company famous for the "007 series."

As a result, Amazon has become the third most valuable company in the world by market capitalization, following Apple and Microsoft.

However, such rapid growth has also raised suspicions about Amazon's business model and management style. Lina Khan, a Columbia University professor who defined Amazon as a "monopoly" and oversees corporate monopoly issues at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), was appointed chairperson, and Amazon has faced antitrust lawsuits from the Washington D.C. Attorney General.

Bezos also founded and operates the space exploration company Blue Origin. On the 20th of this month, he is scheduled to personally board the company's first space tourism rocket, "New Shepard," for a space trip.

Bezos is also expanding philanthropic and social projects, including climate change response. In February last year, he pledged $10 billion (about 11.3 trillion KRW) through the "Bezos Earth Fund" to combat climate change.

▲Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder [Image Source=Reuters Yonhap News]

He is also involved in projects like the Amazon Day One Fund, which supports education for the homeless and low-income groups.

Personally, he has built a "housing portfolio" by acquiring mansions across the United States. WSJ reported that Bezos has invested over $300 million to acquire homes not only in the Seattle area, where Amazon's headquarters are located, but also in Los Angeles (LA), Washington D.C., and New York.

Additionally, he owns over 1,200 square kilometers of land in West Texas, where Blue Origin's rocket launch site is located.

He owns at least one private jet, the Gulfstream G650ER, which can carry up to 19 passengers, and recently purchased a 127-meter yacht equipped with a helicopter landing pad.

Most of Bezos's wealth comes from Amazon stock, but the company's explosive growth made him the world's richest person in 2018. Bloomberg reported last August that Bezos's wealth surpassed $200 billion (about 226 trillion KRW) for the first time as an individual.

Although he was recently surpassed in wealth by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, Bezos still holds a top position on the list of the world's richest people.

After stepping down as CEO, Bezos will move to the position of chairman of Amazon's board. WSJ reported that Bezos will enter a new phase of life enjoying space exploration, philanthropy, real estate, and investments in new toys.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.