The Amazon Effect
July 2021 is a big month for Amazon\u2019s Founder and former CEO, Jeff Bezos. Not only did he step down as CEO of the company he built into a $1.63 trillion empire, he will also fly into space on the first crewed flight of his New Shepard rocket ship. And yet, the space trip is just the most recent of Bezos\u2019 boundary-breaking endeavors. Bezos and his company have revolutionized American business, extending their reach into nearly every industry\u2014 from retail, to media, to healthcare, and cloud computing.
\n\nBrad Stone\u2014the author, most recently, of Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire\u2014explains that the e-commerce giant has often seemed \u201cunbound from the laws of corporate gravity.\u201d While most companies eventually plateau, Stone says that Amazon has defied these business norms by continuing to grow rapidly. Stone, a Senior Executive Editor at Bloomberg News with years of experience reporting on the company, examines Amazon\u2019s various successes and Bezos\u2019 sweeping influence. Specifically, he traces Bezos\u2019 transformation from a frugal tech nerd to a buff billionaire whose high-profile divorce made headlines. But what exactly accounts for Amazon\u2019s extraordinary rise? If there is one thing that drives Bezos, Stone points out, it\u2019s his deep fear of stasis.