Who Owns Amazon? 10 Major AMZN Shareholders 2024

Billionaire Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez are not the only focus of media attention. People are also interested in whether Bezos will sell more of his Amazon shares soon. On November 15 and 16, 2023, Bezos surprised the market by donating 1.67 million shares to a nonprofit, according to an SEC filing.

CNBC reported on November 21, 2023, that Bezos, the world’s third-richest man, might sell up to 10 million shares, which is worth more than $1 billion.

Although Bezos currently owns over 988 million AMZN shares, his ownership has declined significantly since 1998, a year after Amazon became a publicly listed company.

In this USA Timely article, we’ll explore who owned Amazon in 2023 and who the largest shareholders of Amazon are in 2024.

Key Facts

• Jeff Bezos’ ownership of Amazon decreased to under 10% in 2023, from his initial 41% stake in 1998.
• Amazon’s board of directors and officers generally hold relatively minor ownership stakes compared to institutional investors, despite being influential in the company.
• The company’s ownership structure has evolved significantly, with early investors like Jeff Bezos’ parents and L. John Doerr playing key roles.
• Investment management firms and asset managers acquired substantial stakes in Amazon in the early 2000s, with Legg Mason and TWC Group among the early contenders.
• Amazon’s major institutional investors, including Vanguard, Blackrock, and State Street, collectively hold a large portion of the company’s stock.

Analyze Amazon’s ownership structure

Let’s take a closer look at how Amazon’s ownership and ownership structure have evolved over the years before we explore who the current owners of Amazon are.

Evolution of Amazon’s Ownership

Amazon Founder & Early Individual Investors

Jeff Bezos, the founder and owner of Amazon, was a pioneer in the startup world long before it became popular.

Jeff Bezos’ Parents’ Investment

During Amazon’s 1998 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, it was revealed that Jeff Bezos’ parents were among the initial investors in the company. This investment phase is often referred to as the ‘pre-seed funding stage’ in startup circles, where funding typically comes from friends and family of the founder.

The Los Angeles Times reported in 2015 that Jackie and Miguel Bezos invested $245,000 into their son’s fledgling startup. By the time of the 1998 stockholders meeting, the couple held 1.57 million shares, representing 6.5% of the company’s total outstanding stock.

Early Investment from John Doerr & Kleiner Perkins

John Doerr, chairman of the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, was another early investor in Amazon. At that time, Doerr and Kleiner Perkins held stakes of 12% and 11.4%, respectively.

Influence of Tom A. Alberg

Tom A. Alberg, co-founder of the venture capital firm Madrona, played a crucial role in convincing investors to fund Amazon. His guidance was instrumental in Amazon’s transformation into the world’s largest e-commerce company, with a market capitalization of nearly $1.5 trillion.

Alberg, who passed away on August 5, 2022, served on Amazon’s board for 23 years. His contributions were pivotal to Amazon’s success.

“Tom is best known for his early investment in Amazon, which occurred in 1995, when buying anything online was thought hazardous and unlikely to succeed. Working with Jeff Bezos and the Amazon team, he helped establish one of the world’s largest and most successful enterprises.”

Amazon’s Institutional Investors

Amazon’s shareholder composition has undergone significant changes as it evolved into an e-commerce powerhouse.

In the early 2000s, investment management firms and asset managers emerged as prominent owners of Amazon. By the end of March 2001, the American investment management firm Legg Mason had become the second-largest shareholder in Amazon, holding a 14.67% stake, second only to Bezos.

This trend of investment firms acquiring substantial stakes continued, with TWC Group following Legg Mason’s lead in 2004.

In 2007, ownership of Amazon began to shift towards fund managers, with Smith Barney Fund Management, later rebranded as Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in 2012, acquiring a stake. The following year, the asset manager T Rowe Price Associates also became a shareholder, securing a 5.10% stake in Amazon.

However, it wasn’t until 2017 that Blackrock and Vanguard, two of the world’s largest asset managers, entered the top ten shareholders of Amazon. They have continued to be among the largest Amazon shareholders since then.

Amazon’s Ownership Structure

Over the years, Amazon’s shareholder base has become more diverse, including institutional, individual, retail, and insider investors.

According to Nasdaq, Amazon has a total of 10.33 billion outstanding shares. Wall Street Zen reports that institutional investors—entities like mutual or pension funds, insurance companies, and investment firms—own 58.6% of Amazon’s total common outstanding shares.

Retail investors hold 31.77%, while insider or individual shareholders, including Jeff Bezos and company directors, own about 9.6%.

Compared to other internet retail peers, Amazon has the second-highest proportion of institutional shareholders. In contrast, the Argentinian internet retailer Mercado Libre (MELI) leads with 79.20% of its shares held by institutional investors. Wall Street Zen’s data shows that individual shareholders hold just over 3% of MELI stock.

Wall Street Zen data indicates a markedly lower level of institutional ownership in two Chinese e-commerce giants. Institutional investors hold only 1.72% of Alibaba’s shares and 7.07% of JD.com’s shares.

“Corporations with a large proportion of institutional shareholders are frequently considered good investments. Before investing in a stock, large institutional shareholders perform extensive research and analysis, which frequently includes a team of pricey analysts.

Because of their cautious approach, they rarely acquire or sell stocks in haste. As a result, their investing selections frequently serve as a benchmark for other prospective investors.”

Who owns Amazon?

As Amazon stockholders continue to shift, let us look at who owned Amazon in 2023 and who owns it currently.

How Much of Amazon Does Jeff Bezos Own?

As of March 31, 1998, a year after Amazon went public, Jeff Bezos owned 41% of the total 24.16 million shares of common stock, making him the largest shareholder.

Over the next thirty years, Bezos gradually sold off some of his Amazon shares to fund other projects, such as his space company Blue Origin, and for charitable donations. He established two charitable organizations:

• The Bezos Earth Fund, which supports environmental non-profits.
• The Bezos Day One Fund, which provides grants to help homeless families and low-income communities.

By 2008, his stake in Amazon had decreased to 23.81% of the then 417.38 million outstanding shares, or 99.32 million shares.

As of February 25, 2019, Bezos held 16% of Amazon’s total 491.75 million outstanding shares. Following his divorce from Mackenzie Scott in 2019, he transferred a 4% stake to her, leaving him with a 12.7% ownership as of February 2022.

Throughout most of 2022, Bezos maintained this level of ownership until he began aggressively selling shares in 2023.

“FYI: As of December 2023, Nasdaq reported that Jeff Bezos held approximately 9.56% of Amazon. This represents around one-quarter of his total holding in 1998. Even if he owns less than 10% of Amazon, Bezos remains the company’s largest shareholder in early 2024.”

Who is on Amazon’s Board of Directors & what are their stakes?

Amazon’s board of directors comprises eleven members, including Jeff Bezos and the Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Jassy. Directors are elected at each Annual Meeting of Shareholders and serve until the next meeting or until their successors are elected.

While members of Amazon’s board of directors and its officers do own company shares, their holdings are relatively minor compared to major shareholders.

Andrew Jassy

Andrew Jassy has been serving as the President and CEO of Amazon since July 2021, succeeding Jeff Bezos. He owns 2.13 million shares of Amazon, representing 0.02% of the company’s total outstanding stock, making him the second-largest individual investor in Amazon after Bezos.

Douglas J. Herrington

Herrington has been with Amazon since 2005 and took on the CEO role of Worldwide Amazon Stores in July 2022. He holds 544,894 Amazon shares, potentially making him the third-largest individual shareholder in the company.

Jonathan J. Rubinstein

Rubinstein, a former co-CEO of Bridgewater Associates, has been a director of Amazon since December 2010. He owns 127,353 Amazon shares, valued at approximately $20.08 million based on the closing price of January 28, 2024.

Shelley Reynolds

Reynolds has been Vice President, Worldwide Controller, and Principal Accounting Officer at Amazon since 2007. As of November 20, 2023, she owned 122,436 shares in Amazon, valued at approximately $19.31 million based on the closing price of January 28, 2024.

Adam Selipsky

Selipsky leads AWS, the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform. As of November 21, 2023, he owned 121,060 shares in Amazon.

Who owns the most Amazon shares?

Here’s a list of the top shareholders of Amazon and their respective stakes:

FAQs

Does Jeff Bezos still own Amazon?

Yes, Jeff Bezos still owns Amazon, but his share ownership has decreased over time. Currently, he has less than a 10% stake in the company.

Who owns most of Amazon’s stock?

Jeff Bezos remains the largest shareholder of Amazon, although his ownership is now less than 10%. Other significant shareholders include prominent asset managers and investment firms like Vanguard, Blackrock, and State Street.

What is Jeff Bezos’s net worth?

Jeff Bezos has a net worth of $169.2 billion as of December 8, 2023, making him the world’s third-richest person. His net worth hit a low of $113 billion in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic but reached a peak of $177 billion in 2021.

Who owns Amazon now?

As of January 2024, Jeff Bezos remains Amazon’s largest individual shareholder, followed by Vanguard Group, the company’s largest institutional shareholder.

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Final Bite

While Jeff Bezos is Amazon’s largest shareholder, his position is projected to decline further over time.

Nonetheless, as the company’s creator, Bezos is likely to have a substantial influence over the company’s future course.