Jeff Bezos is dangerously close to losing his title as the ‘world’s richest person’
Pour one out for Jeff Bezos because the Amazon founder is precariously close to losing his title of world’s richest person to Bill Gates.
Bezos can blame his company’s third quarter earnings, which came in below Wall Street’s estimates and sent the company’s shares tumbling.
Much of Bezos’ wealth is tied to Amazon’s stock. He owns roughly 57 million shares, or around 12% of the company. His net worth lost roughly $3 billion after Amazon’s stock fell around 2% in Friday trading. It’s a sharp rebound compared to after-hours trading Thursday, when it was down as much as 9%.
Bezos’ current wealth is $109.6 billion, according to Forbes’ list of billionaires, which is higher than Gates’ $106 billion. Bezos overtook Gates’ title of world’s richest person in 2017.
It’s been a rough year for Bezos’ finances, according to Bloomberg Billionaire Index. He’s lost around $14 billion, mostly because of his divorce. As part of the settlement, MacKenzie Bezos received 25% of the couple’s Amazon stock, according to an April securities filing. That gave her a 4% stake in the company, which amounted to around $38 billion.
Gates, meanwhile, has gained $17 billion year-to-date, according to Bloomberg. He owns roughly 1% of Microsoft, which is up 40% this year. Amazon shares are up 17% for the year.
The two men should keep an eye out for French billionaire Bernard Arnault. He’s the only other person on Forbes’ list that’s worth more than $100 billion. In July, the CEO of luxury goods maker LVMH briefly overtook Gates’ second place spot.
–CNN Business’ Paul R. LaMonica contributed to this report.
