Amazon has announced that Jeff Bezos will step down as chief executive officer and transition to the position of executive chair later this year, Business Insider and CNN reported on Wednesday.
In a letter Tuesday, Amazon said Bezos, who will focus on "new products and early initiatives," will be replaced in the fall by Andy Jassy who is currently in charge of the company's Cloud business.
"Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it's consuming," Bezos said in remarks quoted by Insider. "When you have a responsibility like that, it's hard to put attention on anything else."
Bezos, 57, has been Amazon's CEO since its founding in 1995. He led its growth from an online bookseller into a $1.7 trillion global retail company, which has also made him one of the world's wealthiest men.
Forbes estimates Bezos' current net worth at more than $196 billion.
According to Bess Levin of Vanity Fair, Bezos made $152,207 per minute last year. His net worth is bigger than the gross domestic product of some small-to-medium-size countries.
In a blog post to employees, Bezos said he wants to have more time for side projects, including his space exploration company Blue Origin, overseeing his Earth Fund, The Washington Post, and focusing on his philanthropic initiatives.
Jassy, the incoming Amazon chief executive and Bezos close confidant, is a well-known figure in Amazon who joined the company in 1997.
Jassy later climbed his way to the company's team at Amazon Web Services, helping the unit generate more than $40 billion in yearly sales.
In the letter, Bezos wrote that his successor, who turned 53 last month, would be an outstanding leader and that he had his "full confidence."
Shares of Amazon were unchanged during extended trading Tuesday. The company's stock is up almost 70% over the past year.
