Jeff Bezos will travel to space next month, just a few weeks after he steps down as CEO of Amazon.
Bezos and his brother Mark Bezos will travel to space on July 20, the billionaire said in an Instagram post.
“I want to go on this flight because it is the thing I have wanted to do all my life,” Bezos said in the video. “It is an adventure, it is a big deal to me.”
The flight will be launched by Blue Origin, the sub-orbital space travel and aerospace company owned by Bezos. The July 20 launch will be the first for New Shepard, Blue Origin’s crewed space capsule. The company is currently hosting an auction letting users bid to join Bezos on the inaugural flight, with the proceeds going to Club for the Future, which encourages investment in STEM education and careers. As of two hours after Bezos’ post, the high bid was $2.8 million.
The space flight is a hint at Bezos’ priorities after he steps down from day-to-day oversight of Amazon on July 6. Bezos will hand control of the tech, retail and media giant to Andy Jassy that day. Jassy, meanwhile, will inherit an Amazon that is making an even bigger push into the entertainment space through its acquisition of MGM.
