Jeff Bezos is the founder of Amazon, a company incorporated in July 1994 in the state of Washington. He stepped down as CEO on July 5, 2021 in favor of Andy Jassy and is its executive chair. He founded Blue Origin and owns The Washington Post. According to Forbes, his net worth stands at $370.2 billion on October 22, 2026, second in the world.
At a glance
- Amazon: incorporated in July 1994 under the name Cadabra, website opened to the public on July 16, 1995.
- IPO: listed on Nasdaq on May 15, 1997, at $18 a share.
- Leadership: Andy Jassy CEO since July 5, 2021, Bezos executive chair.
- Other roles: founder of Blue Origin, owner of The Washington Post, co-CEO of Project Prometheus.
- Amazon: $716.9B in sales in 2025, $200.6B in the second quarter of 2026 (+20%).
- Net worth: $370.2B according to Forbes on October 22, 2026.
Jeff Bezos in 10 dates
The early days of Amazon: the Bellevue garage (1994-1995)
Before Amazon, Jeff Bezos worked for the investment firm D. E. Shaw. He left in the summer of 1994 to sell books online, according to The Seattle Times. The company was incorporated in July 1994 in the state of Washington under the name Cadabra, Inc., then renamed Amazon.com a few months later.
The garage story is documented, with a correction of place: the first work took place in a house rented in Bellevue, a city next to Seattle, where Bezos set up desks in the garage (HistoryLink, History.com). According to The Seattle Times, that room, a former garage, had been converted into a recreation room.
The website opened to the public on July 16, 1995, after the team moved to the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle (HistoryLink). Net sales went from $511,000 in 1995 to $15.7 million in 1996. Amazon then listed on Nasdaq on May 15, 1997: 3 million shares at $18, or $54 million before expenses (1997 prospectus).
Timeline of Jeff Bezos and Amazon
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| July 1994 | The company is incorporated under the name Cadabra, Inc. |
| A few months later | It becomes Amazon.com. |
| July 16, 1995 | The website opens to the public. |
| May 15, 1997 | Nasdaq listing at $18 a share. |
| 2000 | Blue Origin is founded. |
| February 2005 | Launch of Amazon Prime. |
| March 14, 2006 | Amazon Web Services launches Amazon S3. |
| August 5, 2013 | Announcement of the purchase of The Washington Post for $250 million. The deal closes on October 1, 2013. |
| February 2, 2021 | Amazon announces that Andy Jassy will succeed Bezos as CEO. |
| July 5, 2021 | Andy Jassy becomes CEO. Bezos becomes executive chair. |
| July 20, 2021 | Bezos’s suborbital flight aboard New Shepard (Blue Origin). |
| November 2025 | Bezos becomes co-CEO of Project Prometheus. |
Prime and AWS: two services launched under his leadership
Amazon Prime launched in February 2005 at $79 a year, with express two-day shipping and no minimum purchase (Amazon press releases). AWS launched the Amazon S3 storage service on March 14, 2006. In 2025, AWS generated $128.7 billion in sales (+20%) and $45.6 billion in operating income, more than half of the group’s ($80.0 billion).
Blue Origin, The Washington Post and Project Prometheus
Blue Origin. Bezos founded the space company in 2000. On July 20, 2021, he made a suborbital flight of about ten minutes aboard New Shepard, with three other passengers (Al Jazeera).
The Washington Post. The purchase, announced on August 5, 2013 for $250 million, was made by Bezos personally and not by Amazon (Poynter).
Project Prometheus. According to The New York Times, this AI start-up focused on the “physical economy” raised $6.2 billion. Bezos is co-CEO with Vik Bajaj (SiliconANGLE, November 17, 2025).
What does Jeff Bezos do today?
| Entity | Role or stake | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon | Founder and executive chair since July 2021. Andy Jassy is CEO. | Amazon proxy statement, April 9, 2026 |
| Amazon shares | 8.8% of the capital as of February 24, 2026 (950,434,581 shares, of which 68,232,131 with voting power only). | Amazon proxy statement, April 9, 2026 |
| Blue Origin | Founder. Forbes values the company at $130 billion. | Amazon proxy statement; Forbes, October 22, 2026 |
| The Washington Post | Owner. | Amazon proxy statement; Forbes, October 22, 2026 |
| Project Prometheus | Co-CEO since November 2025. | Amazon proxy statement, April 9, 2026 |
| Bezos Earth Fund | Executive chair. | Amazon proxy statement, April 9, 2026 |
Amazon in figures: 2025 and the second quarter of 2026
| 2024 | 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q2 2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net sales ($B) | 638.0 | 716.9 | 167.7 | 200.6 |
| Net sales growth | +12% | +20% | ||
| Operating income ($B) | 68.6 | 80.0 | 19.2 | 27.5 |
| AWS sales ($B) | 107.6 | 128.7 | 30.9 | 42.2 |
| AWS sales growth | +20% | +37% | ||
| AWS operating income ($B) | 39.8 | 45.6 | 10.2 | 16.6 |
Net income for the second quarter of 2026 ($62.6 billion) includes $53.4 billion of pre-tax non-operating income, mostly from investments in Anthropic. Amazon had 1,595,000 employees at the end of June 2026.
Jeff Bezos’s net worth: amounts, sources and dates
| Source | Date | Estimated net worth | World rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forbes, Jeff Bezos profile | October 22, 2026 (real time) | $370.2B | 2nd |
| Bloomberg Billionaires Index, reported by Bloomberg Línea | October 8, 2026 (publication date, measurement date not given) | $368.5B | 2nd |
These estimates move with Amazon’s share price and the value assigned to Blue Origin. Bloomberg assumes a 93% holding in Blue Origin, with a 5% discount because the company is not listed.
According to CNBC, as summarized by OODAloop in July 2026, Blue Origin was preparing a first outside funding round of about $10 billion, at a $130 billion pre-money valuation. Bloomberg Línea then cites $140 billion and attributes the rise in Bezos’s estimated fortune to that revaluation.
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The whole brand identity resources collection.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Amazon and when?
Jeff Bezos, in July 1994, when the company was incorporated under the name Cadabra, Inc. The website opened to the public on July 16, 1995.
Was Amazon born in a garage?
Partly. The first work took place in 1994 in the garage of a house rented in Bellevue, near Seattle, before the team moved to Seattle.
Is Jeff Bezos still the CEO of Amazon?
No. Andy Jassy has been CEO since July 5, 2021. Bezos remains executive chair, according to the proxy statement of April 9, 2026.
What is Jeff Bezos’s net worth?
Forbes estimates it at $370.2 billion on October 22, 2026, second in the world. Bloomberg Línea reports $368.5 billion on October 8, 2026. These estimates change every day.
What is Amazon’s revenue?
$716.9 billion in 2025 (+12%) and $200.6 billion in the second quarter of 2026 (+20%), of which $42.2 billion for AWS (+37%).
What does Jeff Bezos do today?
He is executive chair of Amazon, founder of Blue Origin, owner of The Washington Post and co-CEO of Project Prometheus.
When did Jeff Bezos go to space?
On July 20, 2021, on a suborbital flight of about ten minutes aboard New Shepard, Blue Origin’s rocket.
Read next
- The race to the trillion: Elon Musk in pole position
- The 30 most influential entrepreneurs who changed the world
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- Elon Musk sues OpenAI and Sam Altman for breach of contract
Sources
- Amazon, résultats du deuxième trimestre 2026 (30 juillet 2026)
- Amazon, annexe du formulaire 8-K du deuxième trimestre 2026 (SEC)
- Amazon, résultats annuels 2025 (5 février 2026)
- Amazon, proxy statement (9 avril 2026, SEC)
- Amazon, prospectus d’introduction en Bourse (15 mai 1997, SEC)
- Amazon, formulaire 8-K du 2 février 2021 (SEC)
- Amazon, communiqué d’avril 2006 (Prime)
- AWS News Blog, lancement d’Amazon S3
- Forbes, profil de Jeff Bezos (22 octobre 2026)
- Bloomberg Línea, fortune de Jeff Bezos (8 octobre 2026)
- OODAloop, tour de table de Blue Origin (juillet 2026)
- HistoryLink, Amazon : les premières années
- The Seattle Times, Homegrown Amazon (2000)
- History.com, Amazon est fondée (5 juillet 1994)
- Poynter, vente du Washington Post (2013)
- MPR News, rachat du Washington Post finalisé (2013)
- The Jakarta Post, transmission le 5 juillet 2021
- Al Jazeera, vol de Blue Origin (2021)
- SiliconANGLE, Project Prometheus (2025)
Updated October 22, 2026. Amazon: press releases of February 5 and July 30, 2026. Net worth: Forbes (October 22, 2026), Bloomberg (October 8, 2026).
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