Earlier today, founder of e-commerce platform, Amazon, Jeff Bezos who was number two on the Forbes list of world’s richest, briefly, toppled co-founde
Earlier today, founder of e-commerce platform, Amazon, Jeff Bezos who was number two on the Forbes list of world’s richest, briefly, toppled co-founder of Microsoft and philanthropist, Bill Gates, as the world’s richest person following a surge in the online retailer’s shares ahead of its earnings report, before the stock fell back again.
Jeff Bezos overtook Bill Gates after Amazon shares rose 1.8pc to $1,071 (£820). Shares later dropped back, closing down 0.7pc at $1,046, therefore returning 53 year old Jeff Bezos back to his number two spot. Bezos is now worth $88.5bn as against the $90.9bn he was a few hours ago. He has slipped back to being behind Bill Gates who is $89.8bn
The share price move came hours before Amazon posted quarterly earnings in which it said profit had fallen 77pc on a year earlier. This was due to it ramping up investment spending on video content and international expansion.
Just over two decades ago, Jeff Bezos started selling books online from his garage in 1994 and successfully turned the platform into a disruptive force that has flipped traditional retail on its head. The e-commerce platform is now into hardware, cloud services, music and streaming shows. Amazon is now one of the top 50 biggest companies in the world with a remit that includes online shopping, original television series and on-demand delivery. Last year alone, Amazon raked in a stunning $136 billion.
In addition to Amazon, Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post and a rocket company called Blue Origin. He holds a stake in Google, having been one of the first backers of the search company, as well as Airbnb and Uber.
In recent years, Bezos’s fortune has whizzed past that of legendary investor, Warren Buffett, Spanish retail magnate, Amancio Ortega and Mexican tycoon, Carlos Slim. Bezos added more than $24 billion in net worth since January 2017, according to Bloomberg.
Telegraph UK
