Is Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos no longer the world's richest man? According to Forbes, Bezos' time at the top of the financial food chain came to a close when Amazon's drop in stock price saw him lose his position as the richest person in the world. Amazon’s shares fell on Thursday evening - causing Bezos’ net worth to plummet.
Bezos was announced as the richest man in the world in 2018, blowing past Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’ lead with a net worth of $150 billion.
At its peak, CNBC reported that Amazon shares had plummeted yesterday by as much as 9% in after hours trading and that the Amazon CEO had lost $7 billion in stock value. Forbes reported that following the drop in Amazon shares, Bezos is now worth $103.9 billion - meaning that Gates is now back on top with a net worth of $105.7 billion.
Beyond the Amazon share loss, Bezos’ recent divorce from his former wife of 25 years Mackenzie Bezos saw him pay out a reported $38 billion to the author in a settlement this year. Mackenzie, who was made fourth richest woman in the world as a result, has since pledged to donate half of her wealth to charity after signing Bill and Melinda Gates’ Giving Pledge. Bezos is now dating television anchor Lauren Sanchez.
According to Forbes Bill Gates is the richest person in the world, followed by Jeff Bezos and LVMH’s Bernard Arnault in third place with $102 billion, though Forbes' real time billionaire tracker still lists Bezos as number one with a net worth of $111 billion which suggests he may have already reclaimed his top spot.
