Amazon has announced that Bezos will be replaced by Andy Jassy, who has been running the company's cloud computing division and the transition is expected to be carried out between July and September of this year.
Netizens are applauding Bezos deciding to step down when he's still "ahead in the game" – referring to Amazon's global success as well as Bezos' net worth of $185.7 billion that makes him one of the world's richest individuals.
Bezos will now serve as the executive chair of Amazon's board.
Several tech leaders including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Google CEO Sundar Pichai congratulated Bezos and Jassy on their new roles.
Amazon started back in 1994 as an online bookstore in a one-room office that Bezos transformed into an e-commerce giant over a period of 26 years.
In the letter to his 1.3 million employees worldwide, Bezos reiterated the importance of "invention".
"I don't know of another company with an invention track record as good as Amazon's, and I believe we are at our most inventive right now. As much as I still tap dance into the office, I'm excited about this transition", Bezos wrote.
Apart from Amazon, Bezos is part of various businesses like the American publication The Washington Post. The mega industrialist also owns a space research company known as Blue Origin.