Jeff Bezos’ net worth rockets to $151 billion
Amazon.com founder is the world’s richest person in modern history
Jeff Bezos has now become the richest person in modern history – his net worth now tops Bill Gates’ past inflation-adjusted peak.
The founder of Amazon.com, already the world’s richest person, saw his net worth hit $151 billion, which is about $56 billion more than the $95.3 billion that the Microsoft co-founder is currently worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
In 1999, Gates’ total net worth briefly hit the $100 billion mark, which would be worth about $149 billion today in inflation-adjusted terms, according to Bloomberg.
That makes Bezos richer than any- one else since at least 1982, when Forbes published its inaugural wealth ranking, Bloomberg reports.
Bezos topped the $150 billion milestone on Monday, the same day that the giant online retailer kicked off Amazon Prime Day, its annual global shopping sales event.
Shares of Amazon.com have risen for nine consecutive days, hitting new highs, and gained 1.2 percent to $1,843.93 on Tuesday.
The stock has soared more than 57 percent this year, which has added more than $50 billion to Bezos’ net worth in less than seven months.
Rounding out the current top five richest people behind Bezos and Gates: Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett ($83 billion), Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg ($83 billion) and Amancio Ortega ($75 billion), founder of retailing group Inditex.