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Jeff Bezos never made a secret of what really moves him.
By the time he graduated from high school, he was speaking to classmates about how to colonize planets, build space hotels and save the fragile earth.
At the end of his speech he revealed where he saw his role: "Space, the final frontier, will meet me there!"
On the way there, Amazon built and led the world's largest retail group.
That should now come to an end, as Bezos wrote in an email to his employees on Tuesday.
As chairman, he wants to continue to be involved in important Amazon initiatives.
But now he has the time and energy he needs to concentrate on his other passions.
"I've never had more energy, and it's not about retiring."
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In fact, Bezos has launched a number of projects and companies that he now wants to focus more on.
First and foremost is likely to be Blue Origin, one of the largest privately held space companies.
"I believe and am more and more convinced that Blue Origin, the space company, is the most important work I do," said Bezos almost three years ago in an interview with Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer (WELT, "Bild" ).
Bezos said that he was already involved in space as a five-year-old.
"I'm following this project because I believe that if we don't we would end up in a static civilization, which I find hugely demoralizing." He doesn't want the great-grandchildren of his great-grandchildren to live in a civilization of standstill.
Blue Origin competes with SpaceX
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Bezos founded Blue Origin back in 2000 - and has supported it financially ever since.
He says he sells $ 1 billion worth of Amazon shares annually for this mission.
Among other things, Blue Origin is working on rockets, most of which can be recycled after launch.
Just a few weeks ago, Bezos announced on Instagram that his rocket could bring the first woman to the moon.
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In fact, Blue Origin is competing with the two companies Dynetics and SpaceX, behind which Tesla boss Elon Musk is, for participation in NASA's Artemis 3 moon landing mission, which is planned for 2024.
The US space agency has asked the companies to work out appropriate plans.
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At the same time, Blue Origin is working on bringing tourists into space with the reusable launch vehicle New Shepard.
Blue Origin's first manned spaceflight is reportedly imminent.
Unwavering support for the Washington Post
Space will only take up part of the time Bezos now gains.
The 57-year-old has launched other projects.
In 2013 he bought the US daily Washington Post for $ 250 million - and after years of decline, led it into the digital era.
While other newspapers laid off employees or even gave up straight away, the Washington Post has hired several hundred new journalists.
Bezos not only helped the newspaper with money, but also with a new technological platform - and with the Kindle devices gave it a new spread.
Although Bezos reportedly did not interfere with the editorial work, he has been repeatedly attacked by the Trump administration for his critical reporting.
“My leadership of The Post and my support for its mission, which will remain unwavering, is something I will be most proud of when I'm 90 and, if I am lucky enough to live that long, reviewing my life “Wrote Bezos two years ago.
Bezos, who competes with Tesla boss Elon Musk for the title of the richest person in the world with a fortune of more than 180 billion dollars, has now joined the ranks of entrepreneurs who donate a substantial part of their money.
For Amazon managers, Bezos' Day 1 philosophy is a religion
In 2018, Bezos founded the Day 1 Fund together with his then wife MacKenzie and pledged two billion dollars.
The aim is to support homeless families and finance educational opportunities.
“I often talk about the importance of maintaining a day 1 mentality,” Bezos said in a statement at the start of the program.
“It's always Day 1 and I work hard to apply that mentality to everything I do.” For Amazon managers, the Day 1 philosophy is a religion.
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With ten billion dollars, Bezos is providing the Bezos Earth Fund, which he launched in 2020 in the fight against climate change, with even more extensive funding.
He himself describes climate change as "the greatest threat to our planet".
The fund aims to support scientists, activists and non-governmental organizations.
Bezos announced the project a year ago.
The first nearly $ 800 million has now been allocated, it said in November.
It didn't come as a surprise because the project selected some of the largest nonprofit environmental organizations in the United States for $ 100 million each, including the Environmental Defense Fund, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Nature Conservancy, the World Resources Institute, and the World Wildlife Fund.
Many details about the project are still unclear.
The Amazon employees also describe the generosity of Bezos as commendable.
But at the same time a group called “Amazon Employees for Climate Justice” criticized the start of the project on Twitter for the fact that the company itself had to become more environmentally friendly first.
Amazon had announced that it would be carbon neutral by 2030.
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It is quite possible that Bezos will appear more publicly in future than other managers, such as Google boss Sundar Pichai or Apple boss Tim Cook.
So Bezos even once went to the red carpet in a daring wardrobe.
Recently there have also been rumors that Bezos wanted to buy an NFL football team.
But Bezos finds his finest hour in the moments when he is allowed to unveil rockets or lunar landing vehicles.