Jeff Bezos is the first person in history with a $200 billion fortune
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has added nearly $90 billion to his wealth this year. Overall, the world's top 10 billionaires have grown their wealth significantly.
Jeff Bezos is the world's first businessperson to own a $200-billion fortune.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos
The Amazon chief has been one of the biggest wealth gainers in 2020, with company stock gaining a staggering 86 percent since the start of the year. Amazon's valuation now stands at $1.7 trillion, while demand for online shopping continues to surge.
With 90 percent of his wealth coming from Amazon shares, Bezos has added close to $90 billion to his net worth this year. He holds about 11 percent of Amazon stock, along with being the owner of media giant Washington Post, and aerospace company Blue Origin.
Bezos has also widened the gap with his closest rival, Bill Gates, whose net worth has reached $124 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Interestingly, the Amazon CEO could have been richer if not for his $38-billion divorce settlement with ex-wife MacKenzie Scott in 2019.
As part of the settlement, Jeff parted with 25 percent of his Amazon shares, now worth $63 billion, making MacKenzie the second richest woman in the world. She ranks 13th on the global billionaires' index.
Source: Bloomberg Billionaires Index
The top 10 billionaires
Other tech titans in the coveted centi-billionaire club include Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg ($115 billion) and Tesla CEO Elon Musk ($101 billion). Musk is the latest to join the $100-billion club, with his fortune swelling by $73.6 billion this year.
Both Zuckerberg and Musk, along with Mukesh Ambani, have been among the biggest wealth gainers in the pandemic.
Ambani's wealth has climbed nearly $25 billion in the year riding on Reliance Industries' increasing stock valuation, a mega successful rights issue, and a series of foreign investments in its digital arm, Jio Platforms.
Overall, the top 10 billionaires after Bezos have seen their wealth grow by more than $150 billion this year, according to Bloomberg.
Others in the club include Bernard Arnault ($86.6 billion), Warren Buffett ($81.2 billion), Steve Ballmer ($79.3 billion), Larry Page ($77.9 billion), and Sergey Brin ($75.5 billion).
(Edited by Teja Lele Desai)