Jeff Bezos Announces He'll Go To Space 15 Days After He Steps Down At Amazon

Updated September 8, 2021

In its nearly 30 years of existence, Amazon has been inextricably linked with its founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.

And as tales of Bezos' seemingly unstoppable wealth — and particularly how it has increased during the pandemic — intermingle with less than flattering stories of how his companies treat their workers, that hasn't always been a strength.

But while it's unknown whether that has factored into Bezos' decision to step down as Amazon CEO on July 5, it is clear that his next move will take him as far away from the company as possible.

Physically, that is. Because it looks like he's about to head straight for the final frontier.

On July 20, Bezos' aerospace company Blue Origin is expected to launch the first crewed flight of a rocket known as the New Shepard.

Wikimedia Commons | N2e

According to CNN, this was announced back in May after six years of testing.

The 59-foot rocket will feature a capsule with six seats, one of which is currently the subject of a month-long auction that has attracted a bid as high as $2.8 million at the time of this writing.

And we already know how two of those other seats will be filled as well.

Because as NBC News reported, Bezos himself will board the flight just 15 days after he's scheduled to step down as Amazon's CEO.

And it seems he knows exactly who he wants to bring with him.

We know this because when Bezos announced his spacefaring intentions on June 7 via Instagram, he made it clear that he was bringing his younger brother Mark along with him.

In the caption for the clip you can see here, he wrote, "Ever since I was five years old, I’ve dreamed of traveling to space. On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother. The greatest adventure, with my best friend."

The younger Bezos once owned an advertising agency, but is now the senior vice president of a New York City-based nonprofit seeking to alleviate poverty called Robin Hood (no relation to the stock trading app).

Should everything go to plan, this will mark the first time a billionaire with an aerospace firm will actually use it to leave Earth.

Wikimedia Commons | Chatham House

As CNN reported, Bezos will narrowly beat out Virgin mogul Richard Branson for this title as his competing Virgin Galactic flight is set to take place later this year.

As for Elon Musk, he has apparently made no plans to launch himself into space via his SpaceX company.

Apparently, being the world's richest man wasn't enough of an achievement for Bezos.

h/t: CNN

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