Amazon is a public company owned by its shareholders. Its founder, Jeff Bezos, is the largest individual owner, with about 8.8% of the company as of February 2026. Big investment firms like BlackRock (6.84%) and Vanguard (5.87%) own the next largest stakes. Andy Jassy has run Amazon as CEO since July 2021, while Bezos serves as Executive Chair.
So no single person or company owns a majority of Amazon. In this guide, I break down who owns Amazon in 2026, how Bezos’s stake has changed, who runs the company, and what Amazon itself owns.
Key Takeaways
- Jeff Bezos owned about 950.4 million Amazon shares, or 8.80%, as of February 24, 2026, according to Amazon’s 2026 proxy as reported by TheStreet.
- Bezos’s stake has fallen from 10.1% in November 2024 to about 9% in October 2025, and to 8.8% in early 2026.
- BlackRock and Vanguard are the largest institutional owners, with 6.84% and 5.87%.
- Andy Jassy is President and CEO. Bezos is Founder and Executive Chair.
- Forbes valued Bezos at $361 billion on November 1, 2026, making him the world’s second-richest person.
Who Owns Amazon Today?
Amazon.com, Inc. is a publicly traded company, so it is owned by everyone who holds its shares. That includes Jeff Bezos, large investment funds, and millions of individual investors.
The table below shows Amazon’s top shareholders. The figures are as of February 24, 2026, from Amazon’s 2026 proxy statement, as reported by TheStreet on Yahoo Finance.
| Shareholder | Shares | Stake |
|---|---|---|
| Jeff Bezos | 950.4 million | 8.80% |
| BlackRock | 735.6 million | 6.84% |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 631.2 million | 5.87% |
| State Street | 390.5 million | 3.63% |
| FMR (Fidelity) | 358.7 million | 3.33% |
| Geode Capital Management | 233.2 million | 2.17% |
| Morgan Stanley | 173.9 million | 1.62% |
| JPMorgan Chase | 168.9 million | 1.57% |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 127.0 million | 1.18% |
| T. Rowe Price Associates | 123.0 million | 1.14% |
Amazon had about 10.75 billion shares outstanding as of mid-May 2026, according to the same report.
Does anyone own a majority of Amazon? No. Bezos’s 8.8% is the largest single stake, and the top ten holders together own well under half. Amazon is a widely held company, unlike Walmart, where one family controls about 44%, as we explain in who owns Walmart.
Does Jeff Bezos Still Own Amazon?
Yes. Jeff Bezos is still Amazon’s largest individual shareholder, but he owns a smaller share each year because he keeps selling and giving away stock.
| Date | Bezos’s stake | Source |
|---|---|---|
| November 2024 | Over 1 billion shares, 10.1% | SEC filing, via TheWrap |
| October 2025 | 964.3 million shares, about 9% | Schedule 13G, via TheWrap |
| February 2026 | 950.4 million shares, 8.80% | 2026 proxy, via TheStreet |
In May 2025, Bezos said he planned to sell 25 million Amazon shares through May 2026, according to TheWrap. The same report noted several charitable gifts of stock.
Why does Bezos keep selling? He has not tied the sales to one reason in these reports. For me, the pattern is clear though: each sale lowers his stake slightly, but he remains the single largest owner by a wide margin.
Who Is the CEO of Amazon?
Andy Jassy is Amazon’s President and CEO. He has held the job since July 2021, when Jeff Bezos stepped back to become Executive Chair, according to Amazon’s 2026 proxy statement.
Jassy owned about 2.3 million Amazon shares as of February 2026. That is a small stake compared with Bezos’s 950.4 million shares.
Who sits on Amazon’s board?
Amazon’s 2026 proxy listed 11 director nominees, including Bezos and Jassy. Jamie S. Gorelick serves as lead independent director. Amazon says Bezos’s role as Executive Chair is appropriate given his role in founding the company and his significant ownership stake.
Directors and executive officers as a group held about 953.9 million shares, or 8.9%. Almost all of that belongs to Bezos.
Who controls Amazon’s big decisions?
Shareholders elect the board at Amazon’s annual meeting. In 2026, the meeting was held on May 20, and shareholders on record as of March 26, 2026, could vote, according to the proxy. The board then oversees the CEO.
Because no one owns a majority, no single shareholder can decide a vote alone. Bezos has the biggest single voice, but BlackRock, Vanguard and other funds together hold far more shares than he does. For me, that makes Amazon’s ownership more balanced than at many founder-led companies.
How Does Amazon’s Ownership Compare With Other Giants?
| Company | Largest owner | How control works |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon | Jeff Bezos, 8.80% | Widely held; no majority owner |
| Walmart | Walton family, about 44% | One family has near-control |
| Google (Alphabet) | Larry Page and Sergey Brin | Founders control a majority of votes through special voting shares |
| YouTube | Fully owned by Google since 2006 |
Amazon stands out because its founder owns a relatively small share and has no special voting shares. Google’s founders keep control through extra-vote shares, as we explain in who owns Google, and YouTube is a fully owned part of Google, as covered in who owns YouTube.
Why does this matter? At Amazon, the board must keep large fund investors happy. At Google or Walmart, the founders or family have the final say.
How Much Is Jeff Bezos Worth?
Forbes estimated Bezos’s net worth at $361 billion as of November 1, 2026, ranking him second in the world behind Elon Musk, according to Forbes Chile. In September 2026, the Forbes 400 list put Bezos at $378 billion as the second-richest American, Fox Carolina reported.
Most of Bezos’s wealth comes from his Amazon shares. His net worth rises and falls with Amazon’s stock price, which is why the two Forbes figures above differ by month.
How Did Amazon’s Ownership Start?
Jeff Bezos started Amazon in 1994 in his garage in Bellevue, Washington, according to StoneX. The company went public in 1997 at $18 per share.
| Year | Ownership milestone |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Bezos founds Amazon in Bellevue, Washington |
| 1997 | Amazon goes public at $18 per share |
| July 2021 | Andy Jassy becomes CEO; Bezos becomes Executive Chair |
| November 2024 | Bezos owns about 10.1% |
| October 2025 | Bezos owns about 9% |
| February 2026 | Bezos owns 8.80% |
Since the IPO, Bezos’s stake has shrunk through share sales and gifts. Even so, no other person has come close to his ownership level.
What Companies Does Amazon Own?
Amazon is not just owned; it is also a major owner. It has bought many well-known companies over the years:
| Company | What it does | Year | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zappos | Online shoe store | 2009 | $1.2 billion |
| Kiva Systems | Warehouse robots | 2012 | $775 million |
| Twitch | Live streaming | 2014 | $970 million |
| Whole Foods Market | Grocery stores | 2017 | $13.7 billion |
| Ring | Smart doorbells | 2018 | $840 million |
| PillPack | Online pharmacy | 2018 | $753 million |
| Zoox | Self-driving vehicles | 2020 | $1.2 billion |
| MGM | Film and TV studio | 2021 | $8.5 billion |
| One Medical | Primary care clinics | 2022 | Not listed here |
Years and prices come from StoneX’s 2023 summary of Amazon’s acquisitions. Amazon also owns and runs Amazon Web Services (AWS), Prime Video and Amazon Leo, its satellite internet network.
Does Amazon own part of Anthropic?
Yes, a minority stake. Amazon has invested $8 billion in Anthropic, the AI company, according to Nasdaq. Anthropic named AWS its primary cloud provider. Amazon’s Q3 2025 results included $9.5 billion in pre-tax gains on its Anthropic investments, according to Amazon’s Q3 2026 earnings release.
Who Owns AWS, Prime Video and Whole Foods?
All three are owned by Amazon itself, not by separate owners:
- AWS is Amazon’s cloud business. It earned $46.0 billion in sales in Q3 2026, up 39%.
- Prime Video is Amazon’s streaming service, included with Prime. It competes with Netflix and others, as covered in our list of Netflix competitors.
- Whole Foods Market has been owned by Amazon since 2017.
So when you ask who owns any of these, the answer traces back to Amazon’s shareholders, led by Jeff Bezos.
Is Amazon an American Company?
Yes. Amazon is an American company based in Seattle, Washington. It is listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker AMZN. No country or government owns it.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Public or private? | Public company |
| Stock ticker | AMZN (Nasdaq) |
| Largest owner | Jeff Bezos, 8.80% |
| CEO | Andy Jassy |
| Executive Chair | Jeff Bezos |
| 2025 net sales | $716.9 billion |
| Employees | About 1.58 million |
For a look at how Amazon compares with its biggest retail rival, read Walmart vs Amazon.
How Big Is the Company Bezos Owns a Share Of?
Amazon’s net sales grew 12% to $716.9 billion in 2025, making it the world’s biggest company by sales. It employed about 1,576,000 people at the end of 2025. To understand its strengths and risks, see our Amazon SWOT analysis, and for its main rivals, our list of Amazon competitors.
In the third quarter of 2026 alone, Amazon’s net sales were $201.9 billion, up 12%, and its operating income was $28.1 billion. AWS earned $17.8 billion of that operating income.
Why does ownership matter for a company this big? Because ownership decides who picks the board. With no majority owner, Amazon’s board answers to many large investors, not one family.
What Does Amazon’s Ownership Mean for You?
- For shoppers: Nothing changes day to day. Amazon is run by professional managers led by Andy Jassy, not by a single owner.
- For investors: Anyone can buy AMZN shares on the Nasdaq. If you own an S&P 500 index fund, you likely own a small slice of Amazon through funds like those run by Vanguard or BlackRock.
- For students: Amazon is a clear example of a founder-led company where the founder’s stake has shrunk over time, but his influence remains through his board role.
Bottom Line
So, who owns Amazon? Its shareholders do. Jeff Bezos is still the largest individual owner with about 8.8%, followed by BlackRock and Vanguard. Andy Jassy runs the company as CEO, while Bezos stays involved as Executive Chair. For me, the key difference from companies like Walmart is that no one controls Amazon outright. Bezos’s influence comes from being the founder and the biggest single holder, not from owning a majority. To see the outside forces this ownership group must manage, read our Amazon PESTLE analysis.
Frequently Asked Questions
Jeff Bezos owns the most of any single holder, with about 8.80% as of February 2026. BlackRock follows with 6.84%, then Vanguard Capital Management with 5.87%. Large funds together own more than Bezos does.
Jeff Bezos owned about 950.4 million shares, or 8.80% of Amazon, as of February 24, 2026. His stake has fallen from 10.1% in November 2024 because he has sold and given away shares.
Besides Bezos, Amazon’s biggest owners are investment firms. BlackRock holds 6.84%, Vanguard Capital Management 5.87%, State Street 3.63% and Fidelity’s parent FMR 3.33%. Other funds and individual investors own the rest.
No. Elon Musk has no listed ownership stake in Amazon. Amazon’s largest owner is its founder, Jeff Bezos. Musk leads SpaceX, whose Starlink satellite internet competes with Amazon’s own Leo network.
No. Bezos stepped down as CEO in July 2021 and became Executive Chair. Andy Jassy has been Amazon’s President and CEO since then, while Bezos remains its largest individual shareholder.
