Business Desk, ETV Bharat: Amazon Inc. founder and CEO Jeff Bezos achieved a rare feat on Wednesday as he became the first person ever to have a net worth of over $200 billion.
As of 27 August 2020, Bezos is the richest person in the world with a total net worth of $202 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He is followed by Bill Gates of Microsoft whose net worth is far behind at $124 billion.
US business magazine Forbes said “Bezos has crossed a milestone that has previously been unseen in the nearly four decades it has been tracking net worths”.
The uptick on Wednesday was a result of the Amazon stock closing 2% higher in the US trade on Wednesday, boosting Bezos’ wealth by $4.9 billion.
Bezos owns around 11% stake in e-commerce giant Amazon, which makes up more than 90% of his fortune. Other than that, Bezos owns the Washington Post newspaper, aerospace company Blue Origin along with some other private investments.
Read more:TikTok CEO resigns amid US pressure to sell video app
Interestingly, Bezos’ net worth on 1 January 2020 was just around $115 billion. But, as the Amazon stock price surged 80% thereafter, getting a push from the coronavirus pandemic that boosted the company’s business, Bezos witnessed an unprecedented rise in his net worth in quite a short span of time.
Another tech magnate Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook also crossed a milestone earlier this week, becoming a brand-new centibillionaire. His net worth surpassed $100 billion after gains in Facebook’s stock price. As of Wednesday, Zuckerberg’s net worth stood at $115 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Last month, India’s own Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries Ltd had entered the top-five richest persons’ league, becoming the first Asian to do so, after his net worth gained $22.5 billion this year. However, as of Wednesday, he is placed at the seventh spot with a net worth of $81.1 billion.
