Jeff Bezos Stepping Down as Amazon CEO

Jeff Bezos has announced he will be stepping down from his CEO position at Amazon. The sudden news came as part of Amazon’s fourth-quarter earnings report. The 57-year-old founded the company in 1995, over seeing the growth of it as it turned from an online bookseller to the now $1.7 trillion global retailer. It also made Bezos one of the world’s richest men, made even richer over the last year due to the pandemic. Bezos said his decision to step down now is so he can free up more time to work on “outside passion projects.” Bezos said he is excited to transition into the executive chair of Amazon and will still remain involved. Taking over for him will be Andy Jassy. He’s a longtime member of the elite leadership group within the company and has overseen several major money-making projects. Bezos said he believes Jassy “will be an outstanding leader, and he has my full confidence.” Many believe the company’s success will only expand over the coming years.