By Michael Bamidele, Guardian NG
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has set a new record on the rich list by becoming the first person to amass a fortune of $200 billion.
Bezos’ net worth soared to a record $200 billion on Wednesday when shares of his online shopping behemoth Amazon hit $3.403.64 on surging demand for contactless shopping, according to Forbes.
Forbes said that as of Wednesday the Amazon CEO is worth $204.6 billion making him nearly $90 billion richer than the world’s second-richest person, Bill Gates, who’s currently worth $116.1 billion.
“Even adjusting for inflation, Forbes believes Bezos’ fortune is the largest ever amassed. The person to come closest is Gates, who was the world’s first-ever centibillionaire. Near the height of the dot-com bubble, when Microsoft reached its then-peak in 1999, Gates’ net worth surpassed $100 billion, roughly $158 billion in today’s dollars,” Forbes said.
Forbes reported that Amazon stock is up nearly 80% since the beginning of the year, this was fueled by the change in consumer habits as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. “And Bezos’ net worth, which was roughly $115 billion on January 1, has skyrocketed in tandem,” the publication wrote.
Bezos’ roughly 11% stake in Amazon makes up more than 90% of his fortune.
Jeff Bezos also owns American daily newspaper the Washington Post, aerospace company Blue Origin and manages many other investments through his Bezos Expeditions venture capital firm.
Bezos would have surpassed his current $200 billion fortune had he not gone through the most expensive divorce settlement in history last year. When he split from ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, last July, he agreed to give her 25% of his Amazon stake, a chunk of stock now worth $63 billion. According to Forbes, Scott is currently the world’s 14th-richest person and second-richest woman.
