Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos will step down on July 5, turning the helm over to cloud-computing boss Andy Jassy.

Bezos will hand the reins to Andy Jassy, who currently runs Amazon Web Services, after a nearly three-decade run leading the internet giant that made him one of the richest people in the world. Bezos will become Amazon's executive chair.

Amazon announced in February that Bezos would leave his post later this year. Bezos will transition to executive chairman of Amazon's board and is expected to dedicate more time toward initiatives like the Bezos Earth Fund, his Blue Origin spaceship company, The Washington Post and the Amazon Day 1 Fund

The timing is "sentimental," Bezos said — July 5 is the date Amazon was incorporated in 1994.

"I'm very excited to move into the [executive] chair role, where I'll focus my energies and attention on new products and early initiatives," Bezos said Wednesday. In February, he said he was looking forward to having more time to work on his ventures outside the company, such as the Bezos Earth Fund and Blue Origin.

Bezos said he expects that Jassy — who has been at the company for 24 years and risen through its ranks to run its most profitable division — will be "an outstanding leader."

"He has the highest of high standards and I guarantee Andy will never let the universe make us typical," Bezos said. "He has the energy needed to keep alive in us what has made us special."