Being insanely rich: it really must be nice. Today, various reports stated that Amazon founder and Washington Post purchaser Jeff Bezos was shepherded between islands in the Galapagos by the Ecuardorian navy so he could receive treatment for a kidney stone on New Year's Day.

Sure, you could talk up their soft, aerodynamic design. Or their strength in the face of even the most violent of sneezes. But we all know what those white Kleenex-brand facial tissues are really being used for.

Amazon is the future of retail in America. Like its biggest competitors, it is not unionized. But that could change soon.

My wife and I dizzily coughed flu sputum at each other this weekend, taking turns holding our sick baby son on our laps, lugging his tons of accoutrements cross-country as he screamed through delayed wintry flights, and all I could think was: Pity the monied urban childless! How may we improve their lots?

There's little doubt that Amazon is the future of retailing. Its CEO, Jeff Bezos, is one of the most admired and scrutinized businessmen in the world. How did he build the company into what it is today? By being a penny-pinching ballbuster.

Art gallery and curatorial wonder emporium Amazon.com recently put the 1868 Claude Monet painting "L'Enfant a la tasse, portrait de Jean Monet" on sale for $1.45 million (free shipping). Amazon reviewers are not impressed.

An Arizona man who had his Amazon package snatched from outside his door in broad daylight by an "Un-American" thief with a "shameful and super awkward running style" is refusing to take the slight sitting down.

Earlier today The Washington Post's Wonk Blog offered up an image-heavy explainer to clear up any lingering questions about its new owner, Jeff Bezos. One small problem: they got a crucial answer wrong.

Yesterday, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post. This seems like as good a time as any to roll out a few more true stories from the Amazon warehouse workers who make the whole machine go. Jeff Bezos wouldn't be here without them.

In a letter to his new employees at The Washington Post, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos wrote, “Journalism plays a critical role in a free society and The Washington Post—as the hometown paper of the capital city of the United States—is especially important.”

Here is what just happened this afternoon, with no warning: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, whose net worth is estimated to be more than $25 billion, just purchased the Washington Post. By himself. What?

Amazon is the future of retailing in America. Earlier this week, we asked the unseen Amazon employees who fill your orders to send us their stories. Here are five of their tales of life at Amazon.

One of these days— maybe sooner, maybe later, but definitely one of these days—Amazon will become the new king of retail consumerism in America. We know what it's like working for Wal-Mart and Target. But what is life like for the faceless workers that make Amazon go?

Jeff Bezos, Time magazine man of the year 1999, has invested $5 million in the news and slideshow website Business Insider. Bezos' net worth is something like $25 billion, so in real-people money, $5 million to Jeff Bezos is... about 15 bucks. But it's a lot to BI, which has raised around $13 millon so far, and will…

After Mitt Romney bragged about the "binders full of women" he was given while Governor of Massachusetts, Amazon was flooded with cheeky, often funny customer reviews of its binders.