This article appeared in the February 03, 2021 edition of the Monitor Daily.

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Jeff Bezos: What are his after-Amazon ambitions?

John Locher/AP/File
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos speaks at the Amazon re:MARS convention in Las Vegas on June 6, 2019. Amazon said that Mr. Bezos is stepping down as CEO later in the year, a role he's had since he founded the company 27 years ago.

You may have heard that one of the world’s wealthiest people is retiring. Well, sort of. Jeff Bezos is stepping down as CEO of Amazon. 

But here’s what’s on his post-Amazon to-do list: 

  • Save the planet from climate change ($10 billion Bezos Earth Fund). 
  • Remake preschools ($2 billion Bezos Day One Fund).
  • Combat homelessness ($2 billion Bezos Day One Fund).
  • Explore space ($1 billion/year Blue Origin).
  • Save journalism (or at least The Washington Post). 
  • Any one of these challenges might be considered epic. 

    Yes, it could simply be that leading the world’s biggest online retailer isn’t as enjoyable for Mr. Bezos anymore. He and his company are a lightning rod for growing antitrust allegations and worker discontent. 

    But this isn’t retirement. If you take him at his word, it’s a next chapter. And it looks similar to the path taken by another tech multibillionaire, Bill Gates. He stepped down as CEO of Microsoft 20 years ago and gradually shifted his focus to philanthropic endeavors, spending more than $45 billion of his own money on global health, education, and climate initiatives.

    In 2019, discussing his space ambitions and earthly projects, Mr. Bezos said he wants “a whole diversified portfolio of trying to do the right thing.”

    One of the most successful entrepreneurs of our age is focusing his creativity and drive on some noble goals. The scale of the efforts suggest that we all might benefit if Mr. Bezos succeeds.


    This article appeared in the February 03, 2021 edition of the Monitor Daily.

    Read 02/03 edition
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