Jeff Bezos is now the richest person of all time

Emma Sims January 10, 2018

Anyone remember that scene in The Social Network, where Justin Timberlake leans in and says: “A million dollars isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? A billion dollars.”

Jeff Bezos is now the richest person of all time

And shockwaves emanate through his intoxicated, incredulous audience…

Yeah, 2018 has so got that trumped, with news that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is worth $106 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.

That’s not a standalone fact, either. Forbes, which also monitors billionaires’ net worths, puts Bezos’ at $104.4 billion – still well over the $100 billion mark, a milestone which the CEO reached back in November thanks to the ecommerce saturated run-up to Christmas.

Bezos hasn’t always had this stature. Last summer, the internet was alight with schadenfreude as Bezos very fleetingly became the world’s richest man – with a $90.9 billion net worth hardly towering above Bill Gates’ $90.7 billion – only to have the title swiftly stolen back by his fellow internet giant.

But that was then, and this is now, with Amazon’s shares up 7% in 2018 alone, having soared by 56% in 2017. Amazon’s foray into the grocery industry – the online retailer acquired Whole Foods last summer – and the bolstering of its super-fast delivery service (two-hour delivery service is a thing) have contributed to its recent successes, along with the reliable consumer frenzy of Christmas and the ensuing Boxing Day sales.

Much of Bezos’ wealth comes from Amazon stock, of which he owns 78.9 million shares. As a source of income, this is a bountiful, if volatile, one – Monday, for example, saw Amazon shares climb 1.4%, a feat which bolstered Bezos’ net worth by $1.4 billion.

With that kind of disposable income knocking about, we’d recommend the CEO undertake the likes of this charitable venture, which uses Amazon Prime to deliver essential products to homeless people. Although he’d probably just be deepening his own pockets at the end of the day. Sigh. A win-win us mere mortals can only aspire to.

Image: James N. Mattis, used under Creative Commons