Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, has not only managed to stay at the top of the list of the richest in the world during the Covid-19 crisis, but has become the first person whose estimated wealth exceeds 200,000 million dollars (169,608 million euros), according to the calculations of the magazine ‘Forbes’.
The increase in personal fortune attributed to Bezos, which stood at about 201.2 billion dollars (170,636 million euros) this Thursday reflects the change in consumer habits as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, which has driven 80% the price of Amazon shares, a company in which the businessman maintains a stake of around 11% and which accounts for up to 90% of its equity.
The US publication highlights that, even when adjusting for the effect of inflation, the fortune amassed by Bezos would continue to be the highest on record, exceeding the peak estimated for Bill Gates in 1999, when the assets of the founder of Microsoft were estimated at about 100,000 million dollars (84,834 million euros) equivalent to about 158,000 million dollars (134,038 million euros) today.
In fact, Bill Gates appears as the second largest fortune in the world, according to ‘Forbes’, with an estimated wealth of 117.300 million dollars (99.537 million euros), more than 41% lower than that of Bezos, while in third place Bernard Arnault is placed in the world ranking, with an estimated family fortune of 114,800 million dollars (97,420 million euros), 43% less than the founder of Amazon.
In this sense, the magazine highlights that Bezos would be even richer if it had not been for the divorce agreement agreed in July 2019 with his ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, who obtained a package of Amazon shares that is currently valued at about 63,000 million dollars (53,431 million euros), which places her as the fourteenth largest fortune in the world and the second richest woman on the planet, only behind the heiress of L’Oréal, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers.
