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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, 57, will be stepping down from as chief executive officer later this year, to take on the role as executive chairman of the company's board.

Jeff Bezos stepping down

According to CNBC, Bezos will be passing the baton to Amazon's top cloud executive Andy Jassy.

Jassy, 53, joined Amazon in 1997, and has led the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud team since its inception.

He will transition to take over as CEO in the third quarter of 2021.

Second-richest person in the world

Bezos is stepping down from his position at a time when the company's share price and personal wealth are both near their all-time highs, Bloomberg reported.

He currently has a net worth of roughly US$197 billion (~S$262.37 billion), and is the second-richest person in the world, after Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

According to a statement by Bezos, he shared that he intends to remain engaged in Amazon's projects, but will have more time to focus on philanthropy and his other companies, including The Washington Post and Blue Origin.

"I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring," Bezos wrote.

Microsoft and Google CEOs Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai also congratulated Bezos and Jassy on their new roles.

Congratulations to @JeffBezos and @ajassy on your new roles. A well-deserved recognition of what you have accomplished.

— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) February 2, 2021

Congrats @JeffBezos , best wishes for Day 1 and Earth fund. Congrats @ajassy on your new role!

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) February 2, 2021

Top image via Getty