Amazon Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. Picture: AFP
In a seismic shift among the world’s top billionaires, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has lost his spot as the richest man on Earth.
But as the New York Post reports, the new person in the number one spot isn’t exactly a new kid on the block - Bill Gates.
Mega-CEO Mr Bezos, who also owns the Washington Post, fell to the number two spot after the e-commerce giant’s stock price tumbled 7 per cent, according to Forbes.
Mr Bezos, 55, became the world’s richest man in 2018, when he also became the first centibillionaire to ever appear on the Forbes 400 — with a net worth of AU$234.4 billion, ending Mr Gates’ 24-year run in the top spot.
He first joined The Forbes 400 list of richest Americans in 1998, a year after Amazon went public, with a net worth of AU$2.3 billion.
But Mr Bezos’ net worth drop isn’t entirely due to Amazon’s stocks. He would still be ranked number one if he and MacKenzie Bezos hadn’t divorced.
In January, the pair announced their split, with MacKenzie, 49, receiving a quarter of their Amazon holdings in July. With a net worth of AU$47.9 billion, she is among the top 20 wealthiest people in the world.
Mr Bezos split from Ms MacKenzie after a nude photo scandal in which embarrassing “below the belt” selfies intended for his mistress Lauren Sanchez were leaked.
Mr Gates, who debuted on Forbes’ first-ever billionaire list in 1987 with a net worth of AU$1.83 billion, stepped down as chairman of Microsoft in 2014, though he remains a board member.
He is now the co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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