Who Owns Amazon?

Amazon has no controlling owner. Amazon.com, Inc. is listed on NASDAQ and held by thousands of shareholders. The largest single holder is founder Jeff Bezos with roughly 8.8% — about 950 million shares per Amazon’s 2026 proxy statement — which makes him the biggest shareholder but not the owner. In the UK the main trading company is Amazon UK Services Ltd, whose registered controller is the US parent. Ownership verified 5 September 2026.

Who owns Amazon today?

Amazon.com, Inc. is a public company, so ownership is distributed and shifts daily. No shareholder holds a controlling stake, and no parent company sits above it.

In the UK the principal company is Amazon UK Services Ltd (03223028), incorporated on 10 July 1996 and previously named Amazon.co.uk Ltd. Its person with significant control is recorded as Amazon.com, Inc., holding 75% or more of the shares and voting rights, with the right to appoint and remove directors.

One detail on that record is worth noting: Companies House shows a withdrawn PSC statement from 10 July 2016, in which the company had said it believed a registrable person existed but had not identified them. It was superseded by the entry naming Amazon.com, Inc. Withdrawn statements are visible on the register and are part of the filing history rather than the current position.

Ultimate parent and corporate structure

Amazon.com, Inc. is the ultimate parent. Beneath it sit hundreds of subsidiaries by country and function — in the UK, separate companies handle retail services, logistics, web services and media, all controlled by the same US parent.

The UK companies are operating subsidiaries. They own their own contracts and staff, but they do not own Amazon, and the ownership question resolves at the US parent.

Major shareholders or controlling persons

Reported positions, which change continuously:

• Jeff Bezos, founder and executive chair — about 8.8%, roughly 950 million shares
• The Vanguard Group — around 6.8%
• BlackRock — around 6.8%
• State Street — around 3.6%

Institutions collectively hold most of the company, and the ten largest holders together own roughly a third of it.

Bezos is the case that shows why “largest shareholder” and “owner” are different. At about 8.8% he holds more than any institution, and far less than control. He cannot appoint the board alone or carry a shareholder vote alone. Amazon also has a single class of common stock with no enhanced founder voting rights, so his voting power matches his economic stake — unlike several other US technology companies where founders retain control through dual-class shares on much smaller economic holdings.

Official records and evidence

For the UK entity, Companies House is authoritative: company 03223028 records Amazon.com, Inc. as the controller, and that can be checked directly.

For Amazon itself, the UK register holds nothing. The authoritative sources are the company’s SEC filings — the annual proxy statement (DEF 14A) for directors’ and officers’ holdings, and Schedule 13G filings for institutions crossing 5%. Any percentage quoted anywhere, including here, is a snapshot from a filing date.

Ownership history and changes

Amazon was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and floated in 1997. Bezos held a far larger share at the outset; the decline to roughly 8.8% reflects decades of dilution, sales, philanthropic transfers and the 2019 divorce settlement that transferred a substantial holding to MacKenzie Scott. He stepped down as chief executive in 2021, becoming executive chair.

Amazon has never been acquired and has had no change of control.

Related companies and brands

Amazon owns businesses that trade under their own names, which is where ownership questions usually arise: Amazon Web Services, Whole Foods Market, Audible, Twitch, Ring, Zappos and MGM among them. Each is a subsidiary of the same ultimate parent rather than an independent company, and several were separate businesses before acquisition — which is why they still read as distinct brands.

Where this site links Amazon to one of those, the relationship is subsidiary to parent, and each profile states which company in the group actually holds it.