Jeff Bezos steps down as Amazon CEO – but how much power is he really giving up?

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has officially stepped down as the company’s chief executive, handing that role over to Andy Jassy, in order to focus on “new products and early initiatives”.

With a total net worth of $203bn (£146bn) according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the 57-year-old is now expected to devote more of his time to a handful of personal projects.

Among the most immediate adventures for Mr Bezos is a launch with his private spaceflight company Blue Origin, scheduled for 20 July, on which he will be joined by his brother, Mark; a mystery customer who paid $28m (£20m) for the seat in an auction; and 82-year-old Mary Wallace “Wally” Funk.

The Amazon founder also said he would be investing more of his time (and one expects, wealth) in fighting climate change and overseeing The Washington Post, the newspaper he owns.

How much power is Bezos really giving up?

Bezos may be leaving his current role at the company – and on the 27th anniversary of when it was founded – but isn’t leaving Amazon itself.

Instead he’s transitioning to the role of executive chair – functioning as a kind of strategic adviser to the CEO. The transition from CEO to executive chair has happened before, when Bill Gates was leaving Microsoft, and Eric Schmidt leaving Google, and has been called the apprenticeship model of corporate succession.