If you’ve ever scrolled through your Prime delivery history and wondered where all that money actually goes, you aren't alone. Most people assume the guy who started it all is still sitting in the big chair, calling the shots on every drone delivery and Prime Video original. But the truth is a bit more complicated. He’s not exactly the "owner" in the way a guy owns a local pizza shop, yet he’s still the most powerful person in the room when the board meets.
Does Jeff Bezos still own Amazon? The short answer is yes, but he owns a much smaller slice than he used to.
He’s currently holding about 8.3% to 9% of the company’s total shares. That might sound like a tiny sliver for a founder, but in the world of trillion-dollar corporations, it’s a massive mountain of influence. As of early 2026, he remains the largest individual shareholder by a landslide.
The Slow Fade from the Driver’s Seat
Back in the 90s, Bezos was the guy personally packing books in a garage. Today, he’s more of a guardian of the "Day 1" philosophy while spending his actual workdays on rockets and AI.
In July 2021, he officially handed the CEO keys to Andy Jassy. Jassy was the guy who built AWS (Amazon Web Services), which is basically the invisible backbone of half the internet. While Bezos moved into the role of Executive Chairman, he’s been busy offloading stock like it’s going out of style.
He’s currently in the middle of a massive sell-off. Between 2024 and mid-2026, Bezos has been executing a plan to sell 25 million shares. In July 2025 alone, he dumped over $4.8 billion worth of stock.
Why? It’s not because he thinks the company is failing. Far from it.
- Blue Origin: Space is expensive. Like, $2 billion a year expensive. Bezos famously said he’s funding his rocket company by selling Amazon stock.
- The Miami Move: He famously left Seattle for Florida. Florida has no capital gains tax. By selling billions in stock while living in Miami instead of Washington state, he's basically saved himself enough money to buy a few small islands.
- Philanthropy: The Bezos Earth Fund and various "Courage and Civility" awards take a chunk of change.
Who actually owns the rest?
If Bezos only owns around 9%, who owns the other 91%? It’s basically your 401(k) and giant Wall Street firms.
The real "owners" are institutional investors. We’re talking about Vanguard (owning about 7.8%) and BlackRock (around 6.6%). These massive investment firms hold the stock on behalf of millions of regular people who have Amazon in their retirement accounts or index funds.
It’s a weird reality. You might actually own a tiny, tiny fraction of Amazon yourself without even realizing it.
Does he still run the show?
Honestly, not really. Andy Jassy is the one dealing with the day-to-day headaches of antitrust lawsuits, labor unions, and trying to make Alexa actually useful instead of just a glorified egg timer.
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Bezos has shifted his brain space elsewhere. In a surprising move reported recently, he’s even taken a co-CEO role at a new AI startup called Project Prometheus. It’s a $6.2 billion venture focused on engineering and manufacturing AI.
When you see him on the news now, he’s usually at a launchpad in Texas or at a gala with Lauren Sánchez. He’s still the Executive Chairman of Amazon, which means he has a vote on the big stuff—mergers, massive pivots, and high-level strategy—but he isn't the guy deciding if your toothpaste arrives in one day or two.
The Divorce that Changed the Math
We can't talk about his ownership without mentioning the 2019 divorce from MacKenzie Scott. That was the biggest "ownership" shift in the company’s history.
He transferred a quarter of his stake to her at the time. She immediately started giving it away to charities at a record-breaking pace. If that divorce hadn't happened, Jeff would likely still own closer to 15% or 16% of the company.
What This Means for You
Does it matter to the average shopper that Jeff is selling off his shares? Not really.
Amazon is a machine. It’s moved past the "founder-led" phase into a "system-led" phase. The stock price hit record highs in late 2025 and early 2026, even with the founder selling off billions. Investors actually like that the selling is "planned." It’s done via something called a Rule 10b5-1 plan. This is a fancy way of saying he schedules the sales months in advance so he can't be accused of "insider trading" based on news he knows before we do.
Actionable Takeaways for the Curious
If you’re watching Bezos’s ownership because you’re an investor or just a fan of the drama, here’s what you need to keep an eye on:
- Watch the May 2026 Deadline: That’s when his current 25-million-share selling plan is set to wrap up. If he files a new plan immediately after, it’s a sign he’s still aggressively pivoting his wealth into Blue Origin and AI ventures.
- Follow the Proxy Statements: Every year, Amazon has to file a "DEF 14A" with the SEC. This is the only way to get the exact number of shares he owns down to the single digit. It usually drops in April.
- Don't Panic at the Headlines: You’ll see "Bezos Sells $2 Billion in Stock" and think the ship is sinking. It’s not. It’s just his personal piggy bank for his other hobbies.
Bezos is still the face of Amazon, and he’s still the biggest individual owner. But the era of him "owning" the company in the traditional sense is over. He’s an investor now, just like the rest of us—only with a few extra zeros in his bank account.
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If you want to track his current holdings in real-time, the best move is to check the SEC EDGAR database for "Form 4" filings under his name. These are required every time he sells a single share, and they usually show up within two business days of the trade.