Jeff Bezos Is Now $50 Billion Richer Than Anyone Else on Earth
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Jeff Bezos's wealth has reached an incredible new milestone.
As of Tuesday, according to a Forbes estimate, the Amazon founder and CEO has a net worth of $143.1 billion—making him at least $50 billion richer than any other person on Earth.
Bezos became the world's richest man last summer, when his net worth (then around $90 billion) surpassed that of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Gates, who has given much of his fortune to philanthropic efforts, now has a net worth of about $93.3 billion, Forbes reports.
Like many of the world's richest people, Jeff Bezos's net worth is tied directly to his company's performance in the stock market. Bezos owns roughly 16% of Amazon, and Amazon stock has been soaring. The price of a single share of Amazon is now selling for over $1,700, up from $1,000 as recently as last October.
On Monday, Amazon stock popped roughly 2%, boosting Jeff Bezos's net worth by another $2.24 billion. All signs indicate that shoppers will go crazy for Amazon Prime Day 2018, the annual blockbuster online sales event. When that happens, investors will probably find new reason to buy more Amazon stock — nudging Jeff Bezos's net worth even higher.
Amazon Prime Day 2018 is set to stretch out over 36 hours starting on the afternoon of Monday, July 16, and continuing through Tuesday, July 17.
Amazon says that Amazon Prime Day 2018 sales will be bigger than ever, with more than a million deals available worldwide. Amazon Prime Day has been a monster success for Amazon since its inception in 2015, generating huge online sales and spikes in Prime subscriptions alike.
In order to take advantage of Amazon Prime Day deals, you must be a member of Amazon Prime, the subscription program that includes free two-day shipping on most Amazon purchases, plus perks like unlimited video streaming of Prime content.
This year, as Amazon Prime Day 2018 approaches, the cost of Prime is higher than it's been in the past. Amazon increased the price of monthly Prime subscriptions back in January, from $10.99 to $12.99, and in April the company announced annual Prime membership prices would rise from $99 to $119. (There's still a free 30-day trial period for new members.)
Amazon says that there are now more than 100 million paid Prime members worldwide, and Amazon Prime Day is always correlated with an increase in memberships. Beyond the hefty revenues generated strictly from Prime membership costs, the big reason Amazon pushes online shoppers to become Prime subscribers is that people tend to buy way more stuff on Amazon after they've become Prime members, studies show. Take that as a warning.