Jeff Bezos to go into space on first crewed flight of New Shepard rocket

Amazon founder's brother, Mark, and one other person will join Bezos onboard Blue Origin vessel on 20 July

Jeff Bezos will no longer be the richest person on Earth on 20 July because the Amazon founder will be blasting off into space on the first crewed flight of his New Shepard rocket ship.

Joining Bezos on the flight will be his younger brother, Mark, a former advertising executive and volunteer firefighter. The third member of the crew is being decided by a charity auction, with the seat currently priced at $2.8m (2m) five days ahead of the deadline for bids.