Jeff Bezos has decided to step down as chief executive of Amazon to focus on new products and early initiatives. Bezos, who will remain executive chair, will hand over chief executive responsibilities to Amazon Web Services chief executive Andy Jassy. The surprise news came on Tuesday after Amazon released its latest financial result, recording $100 billion in sales for the last three months of 2020. However, knowing Jeff Bezos, this move was possibly in the works for quite a while.

'WORKING IN THE FUTURE'

In the book, "Invent & Wander: The Collected Writings of Jeff Bezos", the Amazon CEO said that he, along with his senior staff members, are always working "in the future". Bezos describes that people at Wall Street congratulate him when Amazon has a good quarterly call, but he is really thinking "that quarter was baked three years ago". The senior staff at Amazon are currently working on a quarter that's "going to reveal itself in 2023 sometime", Bezos was quoted by CNBC.

The 57-year-old billionaire told 1.3 million Amazon employees that he is excited about this transition. "I've never had more energy, and this isn't about retiring," he said. "I intend to focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives … I'm super passionate about the impact I think these organisations can have."

Here are three interests Bezos is likely to pick up next.

BLUE ORIGIN

Bezos, in an interview during the presentation of the Axel Springer Award, said "Blue Origin, the space company, is the most important work I am doing". With hopes of "colonizing space" in the next 200 years, Bezos wants to improve the quality of life on earth -- "I believe in that timeframe, we will move all heavy industry off earth and that it [the Earth] will be reserved for housing and light industry."

Bezos perceives space travel more than a business venture for super-rich tourists. To him, Blue Origin is a non-profit mission which will help humanity populate other planets in the next 200 years. "I'm pursuing this because I believe if we don't, we'll eventually end up with a civilization of stasis, which I find very demoralizing," Bezos said. To keep Blue Origin running, the second-richest person in the world currently liquidates $1 billion a year in Amazon shares to finance the space company that is competing with Elon Musk's SpaceX, reports Business Insider.

THE WASHINGTON POST

The Washington Post is famously known for Watergate investigations that led to the resignation of Richard Nixon. Bezos bought the US daily in 2013 for $250 million and brought the paper into the digital age.

Editors at The Washington Post feared that Bezos would interfere with the editorial process, but the billionaire focused on improving the technology of the business instead of promoting his own agenda, reported The Guardian.

"I didn't know anything about the newspaper business. But I did know something about the internet," Bezos said in an interview soon after he took over.

BEZOS EARTH FUND

Last year, Bezos announced the creation of his new project called the Bezos Earth Fund. The Guardian reported that the $10 billion initiative is dedicated to support scientists, activists, and charities tackling climate crisis.

"Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet," he said. "I want to work alongside others, both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share."

In November last year, 16 initial recipients were announced who will receive a collective amount of $791 million. They included The Nature Conservancy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund, World Resources Institute and the World Wildlife Fund, each receiving $100 million.