Bezos unseats Gates as world’s richest

PARIS: Amazon.com Inc chief Jeff Bezos is now the world’s richest person, having snatched the top spot from Microsoft founder Bill Gates who slips to second place, according to Forbes magazine’s annual billionaires list published on Tuesday.

United States President Donald Trump’s ranking on the list fell to 766th place from 544th in the last edition, his wealth now being estimated at US$3.1 billion (RM12.09 billion), US$400 million less than a year ago.

Bezos’ fortune shot up to US$112 billion, said Forbes, after a 59-per cent rise in Amazon shares over the past 12 months that put him way ahead of the US$90 billion listed for Gates.

After the announcement, Bezos’ worth rocketed to US$127 billion, in line with a spike in Amazon stock. Legendary investor Warren Buffett held on to his No. 3ranking.

Two Chinese billionaires rose to be among the 20 richest people in the world: Ma Huateng, chief executive officer of Internet giant Tencent is the richest person in Asia and No. 17 in the world, while Alibaba founder Jack Ma is at No. 20 with US$39 billion.