Amazon paid approximately $1.8 billion to Blue Origin, the space company owned by its founder and board chair Jeff Bezos, in the last fiscal year, nearly triple what it paid the year before, as the Seattle-based tech giant accelerates deployment of its low-Earth orbit satellite constellation and shareholders prepare to vote on a proposal that would force the company to appoint an independent board chair.
According to Amazon’s proxy filing, the company paid approximately $2.2 billion total under satellite launch agreements last year, with Blue Origin receiving the bulk of that sum. The prior year’s filing showed Blue Origin receiving about $578 million out of a total of $1.7 billion in launch contracts. The dramatic increase reflects Amazon’s push to build out its Amazon Leo programme, formerly known as Project Kuiper, a planned constellation of 3,236 low-Earth orbit satellites designed to beam broadband internet to consumers and businesses worldwide. The company has deployed 243 satellites so far and has asked the Federal Communications Commission for a two-year extension on a July deadline to launch roughly half of the fleet.
Bezos stepped down as Amazon’s chief executive in 2021 but remains executive chairman. His expanding business interests outside the company are now at the centre of a shareholder proposal submitted by the AFL-CIO Reserve Fund, which is calling for a mandatory independent board chair. The proposal points to Blue Origin’s multibillion-dollar launch agreements with Amazon as a potential conflict, and also flags Bezos’s role as co-founder and co-CEO of AI startup Project Prometheus, a venture applying artificial intelligence to manufacturing and engineering across commercial sectors. “As a technology company, Project Prometheus could be a potential competitor or a business partner with our Company, raising potential conflicts of interest,” the proposal states. The proposal also notes Amazon has conducted business with the Bezos-owned Washington Post.
Amazon’s board is recommending shareholders vote against the proposal, arguing its existing lead independent director structure provides adequate oversight. That role is currently held by Jamie Gorelick, a former US Deputy Attorney General. The company’s annual meeting is scheduled for 20 May.
The Blue Origin contracts have drawn scrutiny before. A shareholder lawsuit filed in 2023 alleged Amazon’s board spent fewer than 40 minutes approving the launch agreements without considering SpaceX as an alternative provider. Delaware’s Court of Chancery dismissed the case, and the state Supreme Court affirmed that ruling in November 2025. Despite that legal outcome, Amazon has also tapped Blue Origin rival SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket for some launches, in addition to maintaining agreements with United Launch Alliance and Arianespace. This week, Amazon also announced a $10.8 billion deal to acquire satellite operator Globalstar, which has used SpaceX as its primary launch provider.
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket made its debut flight in January 2025 but has not yet reached the launch cadence required to support Amazon’s satellite rollout timeline.
