If you're considering an investment in Amazon (AMZN -1.62%) stock, you may be wondering who owns the company. Founder Jeff Bezos launched Amazon from his garage in Bellevue, Washington, in 1994, back when the World Wide Web was in its infancy. In 1995, the company officially launched as an online bookseller.
Since then, Amazon has grown into an e-commerce behemoth that's been referred to as "the everything store." In 2024, it boasted net sales of $638 billion. Its market cap as of this writing is around $2.29 trillion.
But Amazon is no longer just an e-commerce company. It's become a disruptor in cloud computing services, with Amazon Web Services, as well as entertainment, with Amazon Prime Video. It's produced an array of hardware devices ranging from the Kindle e-reader, which revolutionized the way people read books, to Echo, the smart speaker service, along with personal speaker Alexa. It's made forays into groceries through Amazon Fresh and its purchase of Whole Foods, as well as healthcare, with Amazon Pharmacy. Now Amazon is also on the cutting edge of various technologies powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
Who owns it?
Who is the owner of Amazon?
As a publicly traded company, Amazon is owned by its shareholders. Anyone with a brokerage account can invest money in the stock.
The e-commerce giant's largest shareholder is its founder, Bezos, who resigned as the company's CEO in 2021 and now serves as its executive chairman. According to Forbes, Bezos is currently the fourth-richest person in the world. As of July 2025, Bezos owned roughly 884 million shares of Amazon stock, which amounts to a stake of more than 8%.
A graduate of Princeton University, Bezos founded Amazon after quitting his job as an executive at D.E. Shaw. He founded Amazon after creating a list of 20 products he believed could achieve strong sales online and landing on books, with the goal of eventually creating a broader e-commerce retailer.
Bezos took Amazon public in 1997, but the company didn't turn an annual profit until 2003. Bezos also founded Blue Origin, a private spaceflight company, in 2000. In 2013, he became the owner of The Washington Post as well.
Who are the largest shareholders?
Who are the largest shareholders?
Bezos is Amazon's largest shareholder, but institutional investors own over 65% of Amazon's shares. Here's a look at the institutions and individuals that are currently Amazon's largest shareholders.
Individual investors
- Jeff Bezos: Founder, executive chairman, and former CEO; owns 883,780,000 Amazon shares, or 8.29% of shares outstanding.
- Andrew Jassy: CEO; owns 2,224,100 Amazon shares.
- Douglas Herrington: CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores; owns 521,142 Amazon shares.
- Adam Selipsky: Former CEO of Amazon Web Services; owns 145,667 Amazon shares.
- Shelley Reynolds: Vice president, worldwide controller, and principal accounting officer; owns 122,436 Amazon shares.
Institutional investors
- Vanguard Group: Owns 832,274,556 Amazon shares, or 7.84% of shares outstanding. Vanguard is a registered investment advisor headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania.
- BlackRock (BLK -0.73%): Owns 703,411,133 Amazon shares, or 6.63% of shares outstanding. New York City–based BlackRock is the largest institutional money manager on the globe.
- State Street (STT -0.04%): Owns 368,934,077 Amazon shares, or 3.48% of shares outstanding. State Street is a Boston-based financial services company and the world's largest custodial bank.
- Fidelity Management & Research: Owns 339,634,992 Amazon shares, or 3.20% of shares outstanding. Fidelity is a privately held financial services and custodian firm headquartered in Boston.
- Geode Capital Management: Owns 212,995,999 Amazon shares, or 2.01% of shares outstanding. Geode Capital Management is an investment manager based in Boston.
E-commerce
Who serves on the board of directors?
Who serves on Amazon's board of directors?
Amazon's board of directors consists of the following 12 members:
- Jeff Bezos: Amazon's founder and former CEO continues to serve as executive chair of the company's board.
- Andrew Jassy: Jassy was appointed CEO and president after Bezos' departure as CEO and also serves on Amazon's board of directors.
- Keith Alexander: Alexander joined Amazon's board of directors in September 2020.
- Edith W. Cooper: Cooper has served as an Amazon board member since 2021.
- Jamie Gorelick: Gorelick joined Amazon's board in 2012.
- Daniel Huttenlocher: Huttenlocher has been an Amazon board member since 2016.
- Andrew Ng: Ng joined Amazon's board in 2024.
- Indra Nooyi: Nooyi has been an Amazon board member since 2019.
- Jonathan Rubinstein: Rubinstein became a member of Amazon's board in 2010.
- Brad Smith: Smith has been an Amazon board member since 2023.
- Patricia Stonesifer: Stonesifer joined Amazon's board in 1997.
- Wendell Weeks: Weeks has served on Amazon's board of directors since 2016.
How to invest
How to invest in Amazon
Investing in Amazon is pretty easy since it's a publicly traded company. You can buy Amazon stock using your brokerage account. Once you've opened and funded your account, you'll need to enter the ticker AMZN, decide how many shares you want to buy, and place your order.
If the price Amazon is trading at seems too high for you, you can buy fractional shares. This allows you to name your price and receive a corresponding fraction of the stock.
You could also invest in Amazon through an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that has exposure to the stock. You can search for an ETF that includes Amazon among its holdings as a way to invest in Amazon without actually buying shares in the company's stock directly.
Who owns Amazon FAQ
Who currently owns Amazon?
Amazon is a publicly traded company, which means it's owned by shareholders. Its largest individual shareholder is founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos, followed by institutional investors Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street.
Who is Amazon's largest shareholder?
Founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos is the largest Amazon shareholder, with more than 880 million shares, which represent a stake of nearly 9% in the company. Bezos' shares are worth an estimated $187 billion.
What businesses does Amazon own?
Amazon owns more than 100 businesses, including Whole Foods Market, MGM Holdings, Zappos, Zoox, Twitch Interactive, Ring, Kiva Systems, and PillPack.
Has Jeff Bezos sold Amazon?
Bezos took Amazon public in 1997 and served as its CEO until 2021, but continues to serve as its chair. He still owns a stake of about $187 billion, or nearly 9% of the company's value.
