Jeff Bezos drew global headlines Tuesday when he announced he plans to step down as CEO of online retail giant Amazon (AMZN). The Seattle-based company has a market capitalization of nearly $1.7 trillion.

"Right now I see Amazon at its most inventive ever, making it an optimal time for this transition," Bezos said in his statement to Amazon employees.

Bezos, 57, founded Amazon in his garage in 1994 and began the company as an online bookstore. The company would branch out as an e-commerce behemoth and has so dominated the market that it became the subject of anti-trust lawsuits in Europe. InJuly, Bezos faced pressure from Capitol Hill lawmakers for the company crushing competition amid sky-high profits.

In recent years, Bezos has become the face of extreme wealth. He's worth roughly $188 billion making him the second richest person in the world, just behind Elon Musk ($190 billion), according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

He took the mantle of "World's Richest Man" in November 2019 when he surpassed Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Musk recently leapfrogged Bezos amid a surge in Tesla's share price.

Bezos' personal fortune took a hit after his divorce to MacKenzie Scott, who received 25% of Bezos’ stake in Amazon as part of their settlement.

Bezos' empire also includes the Washington Post, as well as an aerospace company called Blue Origin.

Amazon has seen a big revenue boost during the pandemic. In late July, Amazon posted its biggest profit in its 26-year history.

But the company in 2020 also faced some backlash, which included issues over transparency as well as failing to provide proper federal protections for employees who contracted COVID-19.

Amazon continues to see strong growth, as Bezos claims the company "is what it is because of invention."

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