Chamath Palihapitiya, founder and CEO of Social Capital, said Amazon.com will be worth $3 trillion in 10 years and its retail business unit won't be the biggest factor in driving the shares to that value. The idea from the former senior member of the investment team at Facebook was presented Wednesday at the Sohn Investment Conference in New York. "We believe there is a multitrillion-dollar opportunity hiding in plain sight," Palihapitiya said. "That company is Amazon." "This is a story that is just beginning," the venture capitalist said, predicting Amazon 's retail business alone will be worth $1 trillion in the next decade. The company's internet backbone play, Amazon Web Services, "is a tax on the internet," Palihapitiya said, and will be worth $1.5 trillion in 10 years. In fact, 100 percent of Social Capital's venture portfolio companies use AWS, he said. The rest of his valuation projection is a bet on Jeff Bezos ' proven ability to create new business opportunities. Amazon "is the most incredible company in the world and something we can all own," Palihapitiya concluded. Amazon currently has a market value of about $312 billion. Apple is the largest publicly traded company with a market value of more than $500 billion. Read More Pro Uncut: Carl Icahn on Apple, markets and Trump Disclosure: Palihapitiya does not personally own shares of Amazon, but he is invested in the company through public investment at Social Capital.
