Jeff Bezos – one of the world’s richest men and the chief executive of Amazon – has said he will travel into space next month.

The US business tycoon has invited his brother along for the journey, with the winner of an auction set up by his aerospace company Blue Origin.

In a video posted to his Instagram page, he said: “What a remarkable opportunity to see the Earth from space… it changes you.

“I want to go on this flight because it’s a thing. It’s an adventure – it’s a big deal for me.”

He added: “Ever since I was five years old, I’ve dreamed of traveling to space. On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother.”

Listed as the second richest man, according to Forbes, Mr Bezos has previously said he will soon take more of a back seat role at Amazon.

The chief executive role at Amazon is due to be taken over by Andy Jassy next month, but Mr Bezos will still be executive chair at the company he founded nearly three decades ago.

Mr Bezos, who accumulated his wealth through his own efforts rather than inheritance, has said his new role will allow him more time to focus on side projects such as Blue Origin and the global fight against climate change.

He will also be able to spend more time overseeing The Washington Post, the newspaper he owns.

Blue Origin closed the first round of the auction last month and said it had received more than 5,200 bidders from 136 countries, without disclosing the highest bid from the round.

The current highest bid stood at $2.8 million (£1.98m) in the ongoing second round of auction, according to Blue Origin’s website.

The process will last until 10 June and conclude in a final phase on 12 June, with a live online auction.

The company is targeting 20 July for its first suborbital sightseeing trip on its spacecraft, a landmark moment in a competition to usher in a new era of private commercial space travel.

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