Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos no longer world’s richest person, back in second

News of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos overtaking Bill Gates as the world richest person went viral on Thursday after boasting a fortune of over $90 billion, but the bad news for him was that he was only on top of the money power rank for only a brief stint as Gates later retook his place at the top. 

According to Forbes and Bloomberg, the Amazon CEO had a net worth of over $89 billion as of the close of markets Wednesday, while Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had a net worth of just over $90 billion.

Early Thursday, Forbes estimated Bezos's wealth at $90.6 billion, compared with $90 billion for Mr. Gates. Bezos was already back at second place at the time of market close on Thursday, as Amazon’s shares dropped slightly, allowing Gates to regain the top position. 

But strong enough earnings would have clinched him the crown going into Friday. Yet Amazon’s stock is down 2 percent in after-hours trading, thanks to the earnings miss, making it highly likely Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates who has been the richest man on the planet since 2013, will hold onto the title with his personal fortune of $90.8 billion and climbing with less than $1bn separating them.

Their riches are calculated on the share prices of their respective companies and at the current values Bezos’s stake is twice as big as car maker Ford.
 
The back and forth could continue depending on the fluctuations in Amazon shares. 

Bezos – born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1964 – keeps a relatively low profile, but has used some of the wealth he has amassed to buy the Washington Post and invest in space travel through Blue Origin, a company he founded in 2000.