Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) began as a humble online bookseller in 1994, a fact that is easy to forget given the company’s extraordinary transformation over the decades.
Co-founder Jeff Bezos built Amazon into a global empire spanning e-commerce, physical retail, streaming, advertising, devices, and cloud computing.
Bezos remains Amazon’s largest individual shareholder, a position that continues to signal deep confidence in the company’s long-term trajectory.
His vast fortune has been estimated at $280 billion, with his Amazon shares making up the vast majority of that net worth.
According to Amazon’s annual proxy filing, Bezos owned 950.4 million shares at the end of February, representing a stake valued at approximately $245.7 billion at current share prices.
That holding translates to an 8.8% ownership of Amazon’s outstanding shares, putting him well ahead of the next-largest shareholders.
Vanguard Group and BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) follow as major institutional holders, with stakes of 7.2% and 5.9%, respectively.
While no longer serving as CEO, Bezos retains an active role with the company as executive chair, underscoring his continued involvement in its strategic direction.
Amazon shares have gained 12% year to date through September 4, trailing the S&P 500, which returned 13.7% including dividends over the same period.
Despite the short-term underperformance, Amazon’s business fundamentals remain strong, particularly through its Amazon Web Services division, which posted a 36.8% year-over-year sales increase in the second quarter to $42.2 billion.
AWS also accounted for 60.5% of the company’s total operating income, making it far and away the most profitable segment within the broader business.
At the company level, Amazon’s second-quarter sales grew 20% year over year to reach $200.6 billion, reflecting continued momentum across its business lines.
Operating income for the same period climbed more than 43% to $27.5 billion, demonstrating that heavy investment spending has not come at the expense of profitability.
Management has drawn some investor scrutiny for its aggressive capital expenditure, particularly in data centers designed to meet surging demand for generative artificial intelligence services.
However, given Amazon’s number one market position in cloud computing and the scale of AI-driven growth potential, those investments appear well-placed for the long run.
Bezos’ continued and substantial ownership stake in AMZN offers a compelling signal for investors considering whether to add the stock to their long-term holdings.
