Amazon Becomes world’s Most Valuable Company

When Jeff Bezzo’s Launched Amazon in 1994 at a garage as a second hand book seller, he never imagined that 25years later, his company would become the most valuable in the world.

Originally called “Cadabra,” (as in “abracadabra”) it sold its first book – Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought, by Douglas Hofstadter in 1995.

By early 1996, Amazon was selling books online throughout the US.

The business was floated on the stock exchange in 1997, raising $54m. As a result, Mr Bezos joined the ranks of the world’s richest business people before he turned 35 years of age.

For more than a decade, the company put growth ahead of profit, investing in warehouses, distribution networks and data systems.

In 2017, it paid $13.7bn for Whole Foods Market, which brought it a large network of physical stores for the first time.

It has also emerged as a major creator of original entertainment content, producing original drama series.

However, On Monday (Jan. 7 2019), Amazon passed Microsoft as the largest company by market value, according to reports. Amazon was worth about $8 billion more than Microsoft on Monday, at $799 billion to Microsoft’s $791 billion. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, passed Apple and is in third place with about $747 billion. Apple, which has faced woes recently amid sluggish sales, is in fourth place with $699 billion.

The news gave Amazon stocks a shot in the arm; they rose about 3.5 percent on Monday, which equals about $1,632 a share. Microsoft shares were up, too – they rose 1 percent and were trading at $103 a share.

Amazon, says it wants to open 3,200 cashierless stores by the year 2021.