Rocket man Bezos soars past Gates
AMAZON founder Jeff Bezos has overtaken Bill Gates to become the world’s richest person – worth £70billion.
A 2.5% rise in shares in the online retailer yesterday means Mr Bezos’s wealth now eclipses the Microsoft co-founder by £1.1billion, according to US business mag Forbes.
Mr Bezos, 53, owns about 17% of the shares in Amazon, whose value has now topped £380billion.
In the first quarter of this year, Amazon’s sales jumped 23% to £27billion.
Mr Bezos has focused in recent years on his Blue Origin space rocket business and the Washington Post newspaper he owns.
Manchester By The Sea, a movie produced by Amazon Studios, won two Oscars this year.