22 NEWS Talking points
THEWEEK 13 February 2021
After 27 yearsatthehelm,JeffBezos
announcedlastweekthatheisstepping
downaschiefexecutiveofthecompany
hefounded.Itwasamomentousdayfor
Amazon,saidJamesMooreinThe
Independent.AndyetWallStreetbarely
blinked.That’spartlybecauseofthe
identityofhissuccessor:AndyJassyhas
beenwiththefirmsince1997,andas
theheadofitsprofitableweb services
division,AWS,heiswellknownon
WallStreet.It’salsothecasethatBezos
isn’tleaving:hewillbecomeexecutive
chairman–andwitha10.6%stakein
thefirm,he’llbemakinghispresencefelt.
Moreover,heannouncedhisdepartureas
heunveiledanothersetofextraordinary
quarterlyfigures:inthelastthreemonthsof2020,Amazon’s
revenuesurgedtopass$125bn,aspeopletrappedathometurned
totheretailgiant,withits“unrivalledlogistics”,forrapid
deliveriesofitemstheycouldnolongergetintheshops;and
increasinglywentonlinefortheirentertainmenttoo.Thebusiness,
whichemploys 1 .3millionpeopleworldwide,isnowvaluedat
$1.7trn –more thantheGDP ofmostcountries.
Amazon isin“robust”shape;butJassyistakingthereinsat a
trickyjuncture,saidRobinPagnamentain The Daily Telegraph.
Buildingupthefirm inthe“regulatoryvacuum”of thelate 1990 s
and2000s,Bezos spent hiscareer
creatingthe systemsthatpowered
Amazon’srelentless growth: from
one-clickordering,robot-powered
warehouses and deliverydronestothe
Alexavoiceassistant,andtheAmazon
Primescheme(withits 126 million
membersin theUSalone). Bycontrast, Jassywillhavetodevote
hisenergiestofendingoff aregulatoryonslaught,aslegislators
around theworldcampaigntoreinin thetech giants, amid
mountingconcern attheir “awesome power”,and thewealth
beingaccumulatedbytheirowners. Bezos’sfortuneisestimated
at around $200bn.
PlansbyRishiSunaktotax the “obscene”profits madebyonline
retailersare welcome,saidRuthSunderland intheDaily Mail.
On its billions insales,AmazonUKServices paidjust£14.5m
incorporationtaxin theUKin 2019 ,deprivingtheTreasury
of much-needed revenue, andgivingitanunfairadvantage over
highstreetretailers.But thosecallingforAmazonto bebrokenup
ignore its value toconsumers, saidSamBowman onCapX:it can
ship a“staggerin grange of products” within24hours,often
morecheaplythananyotherretailers;and
itoffershassle-freereturns.Thepublic
reliesonit.Yetourrelationshipwithitis
oftenambivalent,saidJamesMoore.Even
asweclickandbuy,weworryaboutthe
ruthlesssqueezeitputsonsuppliers,toget
accesstoitsplatform;andweworryabout
theworkingconditionsinitswarehouses.
Wealsodon’tlikethesensethatithas
profitedfromthepandemic–orthe
feelingthatbybuyingfromit,we’re
helpingtokillourhighstreets.PeopletalkaboutboycottingAmazon- butit’snotthateasy,saidMark
O’ConnellinTheGuardian.Themajority
ofthefirm’sprofitsdon’tcomefromretail
–theycomefromAWS.Theworld’slargestcloudcomputing
platform,itprovideshostingforeverythingfromZoom,The
GuardianandNetflix,toUnileverandtheCIA.Youcouldgiveup
Alexa,cancelPrimeVideo,bypassWholeFoods,andneverorder
adogbrush,bookorBirofromAmazonagain–butyou’dstillbe
usingAmazon.ItsodominatestheUSeconomy,thejournalist
FranklinFoer onceremarked, thatifMarxistseverseizedpower
intheUS,“they could [just]nationalise Amazon,andcallita
day”.Ofcourse,noneofthisishappenstance :Bezosstartedout
sellingbooks,buthe alwayshadfarbiggerplans–beyond“the
storeforeverything”,beyondeventheconfinesofthis planet.
AlifelongStarTrekfan who issaidto
have modelled hisappearanceonthat
ofCaptainJean-LucPicard,he hasbeen
talkingabouthisplans forspacetravel
sincecollege,saidDamianWhitworth
in TheTimes.Friendssayit’swhyhe
set out toget rich,andhehasbeenliqui dating$1bn ofAmazon
stockayeartofundBlueOrigin,hisspacecompany.Itsfocusis
space tourism now, buthe ispreparingforafutureinwhichmost
humans willlive infloatingspacecolonies withEarth-like features
(geo-engineeredcountryside and replicasof real cities);mining
andheavyindustryisconductedon other planets;and Earth
becomesanational park.Itisthe only way, hesays,ofensuring
rising livingstandardsforanexpandinghumanpopulation
without destroyingEarth.It’sallabitArthurC.Clarke, said
SeanO’Gradyin TheIndependent. And you mightdismissit
as “cranky”(while alsoaskingifthebillionshe isdevotingtoit
wouldn’tbebetterspenton,say,alleviatingpoverty onthe planet
we liveonnow).Butin1994,youmighthavesaid thesameabout
the“Amazonianworldof Alexaandrobotsweinhabit today.
Andlook who’s laughing all the waytothe interplanetarybank.”Jeff Bezos: the Amazon billionaire’s galactic ambitions“Amazonemploys1.3millionpeople
andisnowvaluedat$1.7trn–more
than the GDP of most countries”Bezos’sfortuneisestimatedataround$200bnTheresaMay was mocked
when she was pictured
holdingDonald Trump’s hand
on avisit to Washington in
2017 –but it was hardly her
fault. President Trump had
grabbed her hand, and “she
couldn’t really take her hand
back, so she was stuck”, says
her former chief of staffFiona
Hill in anew documentary.
“The first thing she said to me
[afterwards] was ‘I need to
call Philipto let him knowthat I’ve been holding hands
with another man before it hits
the media.’”Christopher Plummer,who
died last week, famously
dubbed his best-known film
“The Sound of Mucus”. But
he wasn’t the only star to diss
their own movie. Accepting
aworst actress Razzie for
Catwoman, Halle Berryblamed
everyone, including “the cast,
[because] in order to give a
really rotten performance like
Idid, you have to havealot
of terrible actors around you”.
Dennis Hopperonce recalled
abruising exchange with his
then six-year-old son about his
role in theSuper Mario Bros.
film. “‘DadIthink you’re pro-
bablyapretty good actor, but
why did you play that terribleguy King Koopa inSuper Mario
Bros.?’ AndIsaid, ‘Well, Henry,
Idid thatsoyou could have
shoes.’ And he said, ‘Dad, I
don’t need shoes that badly.’”Chief Medical OfficerChris
Whitty’s grip on the nation’s
psyche is now such that he is
being immortalised in under-
wear. His “next slide please”
catchphrase is among 20
political slogans chosen by
broadcasterIain Daleto be
printed on boxers andknickers
for sale on his Politicos
website.Others includeNigel
Farage(“better off out”) and
Benjamin Disraeli(“climb the
greasy pole”).Pick of the week’sGossip©WEST CUMBRIA MINING