Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, on Tuesday, becomes the richest man in history.
The e-commerce mogul is twice richer than the entire British monarchy with a staggering $211billion after his company, Amazon’s share price rocketed by four per cent.
His net worth soared by more than $8.4billion on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.
Amazon stocks soared by 4.7 per cent on Tuesday, according to reports.
Bezos’ net worth now stands at $211billion and Amazon’s share price has increased by 15 per cent since the start of the year.
The e-commerce pioneer, 57, has shattered records for wealth since the Index started ranking billionaires’ net worth in 2012.
Tesla founder Elon Musk 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 cancelled 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.
Jassy 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.
The date that Bezos stepped down – July 5 – is also significant as Amazon was founded on that date in 1994.
He is set to blast himself into space for Blue Origin’s first flight in two weeks’ time and will be accompanied by his brother Mark.
The venture’s first crewed flight is to embark July 20 – less than two weeks after Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic effort.
The Sun (UK)
