Bezos pips Buffett to become world’s third richest
NEWDELHI: Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of US e-commerce giant Amazon, has overtaken Warren Buffet to become the world’s third-richest person, according to a Bloomberg report.
The Amazon.com founder’s net worth was $65.05 billion (₹4.36 lakh crore) on Thursday, leaving behind Berkshire Hathway’s founder by $32 million (₹214 crore) on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a list compiled by US-based financial systems and media company.
The list was topped by Bill Gates with a net worth of $89.1 billion. Microsoft’s founder was followed by Amancio Ortega, the owner of Inditex, which is the parent firm of clothing brand Zara.
“With the gain, Bezos’s wealth has increased by $5.4 billion this year, marking a resurgence after it fell to as low as $43 billion in February amid turbulent global markets,” Bloomberg said in the report, adding that most of Bezos’s wealth is tied to Amazon, which has benefited from robust demand for quick-turnaround delivery, cloud services and gadgets such as the Kindle and Echo.
Interestingly, Bezos’ rise was helped by Buffett’s philanthropy. “The Berkshire Hathaway chairman donated about $2.2 billion worth of stock this month in his annual gift to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Even so, the 85-year-old has still seen his net worth rise by $2.7 billion in 2016, with Berkshire’s Class A shares up 9.4%,” the report said.
The list of billionaires also had eight Indians led by Reliance Industries’ chairman Mukesh Ambani at the 32nd spot.