Jeff Bezos becomes first person on Earth to be worth more than $200 billion

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, on Wednesday became the first ever person in history to amass a fortune of $200 billion. He crossed the milestone yesterday after a sharp rally in US technology stocks.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bezos’ net worth now stands at $202 billion after an increase of $5.22 billion in a single day.

The sharp rise in his net worth comes after Amazon stock edged up two per cent in the previous trading session.

While most billionaires have seen their wealth decline this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Bezos’ net worth has surged over $87 billion due to rising preference for online shopping among customers.

The 56-year-old Amazon founder and CEO’s net worth is $78 billion more than Bill Gates, the second richest man in the world. According to Forbes, Bezos’ wealth is the highest ever amassed in history even after adjusting for inflation.

His fortune is equal to 3.02 per cent of the total wealth of the 500 richest people in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Bill Gates, who was the first man to become a centibillionaire in 1999, is currently placed second with a net worth of $124 billion. His fortune also rose over a billion in a single day after the record rally in US technology stocks.

Meanwhile, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg saw his net worth surge to $115 billion after an astounding $8.49 billion rise in a single day.

The strong rally in US stocks also helped Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk join the centibillionaire club; his net worth now stands at $101 billion after a $5.46 billion single-day rise.

Musk is followed by French billionaire Bernard Arnault, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett and Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)