Jeff Bezos founded Amazon, the company that grew from an online bookstore into a global market-capitalization leader.
Bezos incorporated Amazon in 1994 and launched the website in 1995. The business initially sold books online, chosen partly because books offered a large catalog that a physical shop could not easily stock. Amazon then expanded into many forms of retail, logistics, digital media, devices, and cloud computing.
Bezos served as Amazon’s chief executive until 2021, when Andy Jassy became CEO. Amazon Web Services became a major part of the company’s business and helped broaden the market’s view of Amazon beyond retail. A founder’s identity is separate from a company’s current chief executive, chairman, or largest shareholder, distinctions that can change over time.