Jeff Bezos is world famous for founding Amazon. Yet, he had received countless backlash for how his corporation treats its workers. This led to sparring between Bezos and senators of the United States. It wasn’t until February 2021 that Bezos announced that he was stepping down as CEO of Amazon. However, he mentioned that he would be the executive chairman of the board. The title of CEO would go on to Andy Jassy who was the senior vice president of Amazon Web Services and personally selected by Bezos.
What is Bezos Going to Do Now?
In his memo to employees, Bezos said that he planned to go back to being an “inventor” and to focus on his other projects like the Day 1 Fund, Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and “other passions.”
Blue Origins
Blue Origins is one of Bezos’ biggest projects. Rivaling that of other billionaires such as Elon Musk, Blue Origin also has plans to go to space and colonize it for human living. An ambitious project, Bezos has focused on this the most since his departure from Amazon.
In July 2021, Jeff Bezos launched the NS-16 mission with his half-brother Mark, astronaut Wally Funk, and space tourist Oliver Daemen. This allowed his spacecraft to go sub-orbital around Earth. Sub-orbital allows them to go to outer space, but the trajectory allows it to intersect with the Earth’s gravity or atmosphere. But, it does not allow them to rotate across the Earth in one rotation. Since then, six other missions have happened and around 20 people have gone up. One of these includes famed Star Trek actor William Shatner. Shatner then became the oldest person to go to space at the age of 90. The latest mission was on August 4th.
However, Blue Origins has met trouble and had a lawsuit against the United States federal government over a failed bid. They claimed that NASA had an improper evaluation of the proposal. However, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) sided with NASA after an investigation. The lawsuit led to delays in NASA’s own moon landing operation called the Artemis program.
The International Space Station (ISS) is going to be retired in 2030. This has led to pressure for a replacement. NASA put the word out and Blue Origin and Sierra Space, coming up with the Orbital Reef. Just recently, the proposed space station was given a favorable review by NASA, allowing the design to go to the next phase for design.
Altos Labs
Altos Labs was founded in September of 2021. It was created by both Jeff Bezos and Yuri Milner, a world-renowned businessman and physicist. The point of Altos Labs was to be a biotechnology company that focused on controlling cells in order to prolong the life of humans. It went public in January 2022 with a massive $3 billion in capital. The CEO of the company is Hal Barron, a scientist and drug developer, who resigned from his job to join Altos Labs.
Since then, Altos Lab has been quiet. Most likely hard at work.
Amazon
Just last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) showed a filing from Amazon that requests that the FTC limit the investigation into Amazon’s business practices. The investigation has something called civil investigative demands (CIDs). These operate similarly to a subpoena. The FTC is also seeking testimony over the course of three days relating to Amazon Prime subscriptions, Amazon Prime cancellations, and other topics.
If you are a big geek, then you have probably heard that Amazon has its own “Lord of the Rings” television series that debuted in early September 2022. Many have already criticized the series for many factors, but some feared that this was just another way to make money. But, Jeff Bezos is a big fan of science fiction and fantasy. Bezos himself vouched for “Lord of the Rings” during negotiations in 2017.
Personal Life
While Jeff Bezos divorced his wife in 2019, Bezos was able to keep most of his money. Since then, he has revealed a girlfriend named Lauren Sanchez. Allegedly, the two had started dating despite both being in marriages. Despite the rumors and scandals surrounding his relationships, he and Sanchez seem to be happy and travel all over the world.
Conclusion
Jeff Bezos has been a busy man since stepping down from CEO of Amazon. However, he still has a lot of involvement in the company. His other project, Blue Origin is also been working harder and harder for the eventual colonization of space. Not to mention his work with Altos Labs and human longevity. Regardless of how you feel about Bezos, he certainly keeps himself busy.
