Here's Why Amazon's Jeff Bezos Is The Highest-Performing CEO Alive

A familiar name topped the list: Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.

Since the internet retailer launched in 1994, Bezos has grown its value to $140 billion. And as HBR reports, Amazon has delivered 15,189% on industry-adjusted shareholder returns.

To come up with the list, HBR pulled 832 current CEOs from the S&P Global 1200. It then calculated daily company returns from the first day that each CEO held office through April 30, 2014.

"Bezos' place atop the list says it all," writes Adi Ignatious, the publication's editor in chief.

"Here's a CEO who has frequently underperformed in the short term while continuing to make big bets on the future. Amazon often reports quarterly losses, even as sales continue to rise," he continues. "And though the company is subject, like many firms, to dramatic share-price swings, Amazon and Bezos have a long-term track record of delivering shareholder value that is second to none."

Interestingly, like nearly a quarter of the other top 100 best-performing executives, Bezos has an education in engineering. He got his bachelor's in computer science and engineering at Princeton University.

How did he climb to the top of his field? Bezos has displayed savage and savvy qualities along the way.

We've identified these strategies as key to Amazon's on-going success:

1. Make offers that your partners can't refuse.
2. Don't give up information unless absolutely necessary.
3. Keep teams small enough that they can be fed by two pizzas.
4. Stop talking so much.
5. And be prepared to argue your point.

For more on Bezos and the competitive culture he's fostered at Amazon, go here.