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New York, Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Jeffrey Bezos, chief executive and founder of Amazon.com Inc., the Internet's largest retailer, was named Time magazine's 1999 ``Person of the Year,' though his groundbreaking company has yet to make money.
``He has helped guarantee that the world of buying and selling will never be the same,' Time Deputy Managing Editor James Kelly wrote. Bezos is, he wrote, ``the driving force behind the striking growth in Internet commerce over the past 12 months.'
Bezos, 35, is the fourth youngest person to win the annual award, which singles out a person who, for better or worse, most influenced events in the past year. Younger winners were aviator Charles Lindbergh, who was 25 when named chosen in 1927; Queen Elizabeth II, who was 26 when selected in 1952; and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. who was 34 when chosen in 1963. The issue is on newsstands tomorrow.
Seattle-based Amazon began selling books online in 1995, and was one of the first companies worldwide to use the Internet as a medium for commerce. It went public in May 1997 and since then has added merchandise such as power tools, prescription drugs and video games, as well as an auction site this year, as more consumers shop online.
Up 76 Percent for Year
Retail sales on the Internet are forecast to almost double this year to $5 billion, according to Jupiter Communications Inc.
Amazon so far has had losses totaling $550 million. Bezos told Time its books, video and compact disc-selling businesses will be profitable this year. One analyst said the company's fourth-quarter sales could more than double to $569.2 million, and rise 68 percent to $2.6 billion next year.
Amazon's shares have risen 76 percent this year. Since the company went public, its stock has risen 5,571 percent, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index has risen 64 percent.
Shares of Amazon fell 13/16 to 94 1/16 Friday. The company has a market value of about $32 billion.
Time also named several ``People Who Mattered' in 1999 -- Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan; Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Bill Gates and Joel Klein, the U.S. assistant attorney general who led the U.S. government's antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft; Jordan's Queen Noor; and professional golfer Tiger Woods.
Last year, President Bill Clinton and former independent counsel Kenneth Starr were named Time's ``Men of the Year.'
Yeah right! What a Trio. There are three things that you've got to believe. (1) Clintons honesty (2) Bezos's financial reporting (3) Williams knowledge of cash flow.
<<Bezos told Time its books, video and compact disc-selling businesses will be profitable this year. >>
Which year 1999 or 2000?
<<Bezos, 35, is the fourth youngest person to win the annual award, which singles out a person who, for better or worse, most influenced events in the past year>>
What does better or worse mean? |
