Guess who just became the world’s richest person.
Jeff Bezos of Amazon, just became the worlds richest man surpassing Microsoft's Bill Gates who held the top spot since May 2013. A recent surge in shares of Amazon on Thursday helped Amazon’s 53-year-old founder to top the world’s wealthiest list for the first time. Microsoft shares slight dip also helped Bezos rise to the top.,
Bezos who owns 17 % of Amazaon was worth more than $90 million as Amazon's shares rose 1.8 percent to $1,071.31 as of 9:30 a.m. in New York.
As reported by CNBC Amazon became “the first trillion-dollar company,” as Amazon’s market capitalization surpassed the $500 billion mark for the first time on Wednesday. Amazon is currently fourth in line behind Apple, Google and Microsoft.
Bezos seems to be taking this new lead with poise. Stock analyst James Cakmak predicting that Amazon shares could double to $2,000 if its recent acquisition of Whole Foods is approved by regulators.
Earlier this year, Bezos surpassed Warren Buffett to take the No. 2 spot among the world’s richest. As of this week, Buffett was ranked fourth, just behind Spanish clothing tycoon Amancio Ortega Gaona. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is currently the world’s fifth-richest, according to Bloomberg.
Shares of Seattle-based Amazon have gained 40 percent this year, adding $24 billion to Bezos’ net worth as the online behemoth continues to steal business from retailers and fellow web-based sellers of everything from books to appliances to streaming movies and music.
Bezos, who started Amazon 22 years ago selling books out of a garage, currently owns about 80 million shares of the company.
Amazon is slated to report its second-quarter earnings after the bell Thursday, and better-than-expected results could solidify Bezos’ top spot among the world’s billionaires.
Unlike Gates, Bezos hasn’t been big on philanthropy despite his riches, instead spending much of his personal wealth and free time on his space exploration company, Blue Origin.
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