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Jeff Bezos, the founder Amazon from his Seattle garage in 1994, leaves town and moves to Miami to be near his parents and his space company Blue Origin.
Bezos announced the decision late Thursday in an Instagram post that included a video of him walking around one of Amazon’s first offices, the garage of his rented home in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue, Washington. It was there that Bezos launched Amazon as an online bookseller in 1995, before transforming the company into a retail and cloud computing giant.
“I’ve lived in Seattle longer than anywhere else and have so many great memories here,” Bezos wrote. “As exciting as the move is, it is an emotional decision for me. Seattle, you will always have a piece of my heart.”
Amazon’s rapid growth has reshaped Seattle, especially the area around South Lake Union, where the company is headquartered. Its rise has helped make Seattle a tech hub, leading to an influx of well-paid tech workers, but also higher rents and homelessness.
Bezos stepped down as CEO of Amazon in 2021, handing the helm to former cloud boss Andy Jassy. Bezos moved to executive chairman of Amazon’s board of directors.
After stepping down as CEO of Amazon, Bezos has spent more time on personal ambitions such as the Earth Fund and Blue Origin, as well as The Washington Post, which he acquired in 2013.
Its presence has extended beyond Seattle for some time. Bezos recently spent $150 million on two adjacent properties in Miami’s Indian Creek Village, also known as the “billionaire’s bunker.” He owns other properties around the world.
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