Jeff Bezos to step down as Amazon chief executive

Amazon Web Services chief executive Andy Jassy is to assume the role when the transition takes place

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos seen walking on stage at a press conference where he introduced new Kindle products at Santa Monica Airport in California in September 2012. EPA

Jeff Bezos, the world's second-richest man, will step aside as Amazon's chief executive this year and become the executive chairman of the board, he told company employees on Tuesday.

"In the exec chair role, I intend to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives," he wrote to staffers, referring to them as "Fellow Amazonians".

"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."

He founded the Seattle-based company in 1994 and led its growth for more than 27 years.

Amazon became one of the most valued companies in the world, with few comparable competitors.

It has grown into a large, wide-ranging e-commerce website and mobile application that offers quick delivery to consumers, with secondary headquarters in Washington, DC.

Its $119 Prime service, with guaranteed two-day delivery, has more than 100 million subscribers. In some US cities, its logistics programmes can deliver orders to Prime members within hours.

Amazon recently bought the US grocery chain Whole Foods to bolster its fresh food services. Other acquisitions include online video gaming platform Twitch, movie review site IMDb, and smart home security company Ring.

It also sells its own tech devices such as the Kindle e-reader, artificial intelligence assistant Echo, and Fire TV and tablet computer products. Beyond that, it offers streaming services such as Prime Video and Amazon Music.

"This journey began some 27 years ago," Mr Bezos wrote to his workers. "Amazon was only an idea, and it had no name.

"Today, we employ 1.3 million talented, dedicated people, serve hundreds of millions of customers and businesses, and are widely recognised as one of the most successful companies in the world."

Its successes have not gone without challenges as the company faces antitrust matters around the world.

It has been criticised for anticompetitive activity, tax avoidance, too much surveillance and clampdowns on employee activism.

Andy Jassy will become chief executive when Mr Bezos moves into the executive chair position.

Mr Jassy is chief executive of Amazon Web Services, a platform offering cloud services, which he founded in 2003 after working for years as an Amazon marketing manager.

Mr Bezos said the transition would take place in the third financial quarter of 2021.

"Andy is well known inside the company and has been at Amazon almost as long as I have," he said. "He will be an outstanding leader and he has my full confidence."

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Billionaires Index: Richest people in the world

No 1. ELON MUSK: Total net worth: US$202 billion. EPA

No 2. JEFF BEZOS: Total net worth: US$197 billion. AFP

No 3. BILL GATES: Total net worth: US$134 billion. Getty Images via AFP

No 4. BERNARD ARNAULT: Total net worth: US$113 billion. AFP

No 5 MARK ZUCKERBERG: Total net worth: US$101 billion. AFP

No 6. ZHONG SHANSHAN. Total net worth: US$92.1 billion Oriental Image via Reuters Conne

No 7. LARRY PAGE: Total net worth: US$89.4 billion. Getty Images / AFP

No 8. WARREN BUFFET: Total net worth: US$88.2 billion. AFP

No 9. SERGEY BRIN Total net worth: US$86.5 billion. Getty Images / AFP

No 10. STEVE BALLMER: Total net worth: US$86.2 billion. AFP

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The projects Mr Bezos will focus on include space endeavours in Blue Origin and his ownership of  The Washington Post.

Blue Origin, the space exploration company Mr Bezos founded in 2000, is participating in the race to the Moon with its high-tech lunar landers. He promised in 2020 to send the first woman to the Moon.

Competing with Elon Musk's SpaceX and several other space companies, Blue Origin is also working on the development of space tourism and reusable launch rockets. The New Shepard and New Glenn rockets are both expected to launch this year.

The Washington Post is a $250 million purchase Mr Bezos made in 2013 although he has had limited interaction with the publication since then.

"I’ve never had more energy and this isn’t about retiring. I’m super passionate about the impact I think these organisations can have," Mr Bezos wrote.

His post-Amazon efforts will include philanthropic work with the Day 1 Fund and Bezos Earth Fund, both programmes that contribute to organisations addressing homelessness, education in underserved communities, environmental protection and fighting climate change.

On Tuesday, Amazon released its profits for the fourth quarter of 2020.

The company reported its first $100 billion-plus financial quarter, owing to what it called a "record-breaking holiday season" even amid economic stresses caused by to the Covid-19 pandemic.

It blew past that milestone with revenue around $125.56bn.

An earlier version of the article stated secondary headquarters were located in New York City. Plans to build an Amazon HQ2 base there was scrapped after local backlash.