Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon continues to become wealthier and it was yesterday reported that the 57-year-old mogul, who founded the online retailer out of his garage 27 years ago this month, became the richest man in history when his net worth rose $8.4 billion to reach a record-breaking $211 billion.
Jeff Bezos
This is according to the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index.
This comes after his worth rose to a staggering $211billion as the share price of his e-commerce company rocketed by four percent.
The businessman’s net worth soared by more than $8.4billion on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.
Amazon stocks soared by 4.7 percent on Tuesday, according to reports.
Bezos’ net worth now stands at $211billion and Amazon’s share price has increased by 15 percent since the start of the year.
The e-commerce pioneer, has shattered records for wealth since the Index started ranking billionaires’ net worth in 2012.
Elon Musk, founder, Tesla is second on the list with a net worth of $181bn while tech mogul Bill Gates is currently ranked fourth.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has an estimated net worth of $131bn.
Bezos’ success comes as the Pentagon canceled a disputing cloud-computing contract with Microsoft that could have been worth $10billion.
Microsoft won the contract under former president Donald Trump but Amazon went to court alleging that the process was flawed and “improperly influenced by politics”, the AP reports.
The JEDI project was designed to store vast amounts of classified data – allowing US military officials to improve communications with soldiers on the battlefield, as well as using artificial intelligence to speed up its war planning.
It is being reported that the Pentagon will pursue potential deals with both Amazon and Microsoft.
On July 5, Bezos stepped down from his role as Amazon CEO, handing over the reins to Andy Jassy.
Bezos previously ran Amazon’s cloud-computing business.
Earlier this year, Bezos said he planned to focus on new products and early initiatives being developed at Amazon.
He said he would have more time for side projects, including his space exploration company Blue Origin, his philanthropic initiatives, and overseeing The Washington Post, which he bought.
Bezos, who is the company’s biggest shareholder, will still have broad influence over the e-commerce giant.
The businessman received a salary of $81,840 and $1.6million in other compensation from the company last year.
Despite the economic crash brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, Bezos’ wealth ballooned over the last 12 months with shuttered shops driving Amazon sales skyward.
That came even as he handed over a quarter of his Amazon stock to his ex-wife MacKenzie Scott as part of their divorce.
Bezos is said to be more than twice as wealthy as the entire British monarchy – which was estimated to be worth $88billion in 2017 – and his fortune exceeds some nation’s gross domestic product.
It’s reported that he makes more money every second than the average US worker makes in a week, according to Business Insider.