Amazon founder Jeff Bezos becomes first person ever to be worth $200 billion

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Luke O'Reilly27 August 2020

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has become the first person ever to be worth over $200 billion.

He is now worth nearly $90 billion more than the second richest person, Bill Gates, Forbes reported.

Bill Gates was the first to reach $100 billion in 1999 and is worth $158 billion today after adjusting for inflation.

It comes after Amazon stock rose nearly 80 per cent since the beginning of 2020, causing Mr Bezos' net worth to soar $85 billion from $115 billion on January 1.

Jeff Bezos' fortune has soared past Bill Gates, left
Getty Images

Mr Bezos' owns 11 per cent of Amazon, along with the Washington Post newspaper and aerospace company Blue Origin.

Last year Mr Bezos reached a settlement with his former wife of 25 years MacKenzie Scott following one of the most high profile divorces of all time.

After the settlement Ms Scott revealed on Twitter that she would be keeping 25 per cent of their previously joint Amazon stock as well as her interests in The Washington Post and space travel company Blue Origin.

The settlement initially saw her become at least the third richest woman in the world, as her Amazon shares alone were estimated at £27 billion.

Jeff Bezos and former wife Mackenzie Bezos (Getty)
Getty Images

In September 2018, Amazon became the second US-listed firm to have a market value of more than $1 trillion (£779bn).

Technology giant Apple reached the same milestone a month earlier.

According to a recent survey from Comparisun, a content and comparison platform for small and medium-sized businesses, Bezos could become the world’s first trillionaire by 2026.

The company bases its "trillion dollar club" projections on data concerning the market capitalisation of the 25 highest-valued companies on the New York Stock Exchange and the net worth of the world’s 25 wealthiest people, according to Forbes, over the past five years.

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