Bezos's empire: how Amazon became the world's most valuable retailer
Amazon has shipped more than 400 items per second at its peak. How did it grow from bookseller to retail giant?
1996
Amazon generated almost $16m in revenue just two years after being founded
1997
Went public at $18 a share
1998
1999
2000
Launched Amazon Marketplace, letting third-party sellers list items for sale
2001
2002
Launched Amazon Web Services (AWS), which now powers sites such as Netflix, Airbnb and the Guardian
2003
2004
2005
Amazon Prime launched, which now boasts more than 90 million subscribers
2006
2007
Introduced the Kindle e-reader. Amazon now controls around 80% of all ebook sales
2008
2009
2010
Launched Amazon Studios to create original TV content such as The Grand Tour and Mr Robot
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Acquired supermarket chain Whole Foods, that specialises in organic products
Amazon now has domains in 15 countries, covering more than half of the world’s population
The company’s steady migration across the world masks a more rapid growth of some of its services. AWS, the company’s cloud computing arm, and Amazon Prime Video, its streaming platform, are available worldwide, and just last week, Amazon launched a new feature to make it easier for users not served directly by its retail arm to fill their baskets anyway.
Jeff Bezos has been so effective at branching Amazon out into new markets that the company has a recognised effect on the stock market when it announces it is entering a new sector. The day after Amazon announced it was forming a venture to provide healthcare for its employees, many US healthcare firms saw billions wiped off their market caps. A year earlier, the same thing happened with retail stocks when Amazon bought Whole Foods.
Amazon is now the fourth most valuable company in the world, valued at more than $700bn
• The headline and standfirst were amended on 27 April 2018 to clarify that Amazon is the largest retailer by market capitalisation.
