Tech mogul Jeff Bezos had reason to celebrate on Friday, November 24, as the rush of consumers to make the most out of the week's promotions translated into the Amazon.com owner becoming the first man to reach a net worth of $100 billion since Forbes, Bloomberg, and other such organizations began tracking fortunes of the world's wealthiest people.
While in-store purchases may not be what they once were on Black Friday, a sudden 2.6% spike in the value of Amazon's stock value provided proof that online retailers definitely continue to thrive during the promotional holiday. Amazon shares are now up to $1,186, and with Bezos owning roughly 16% stake in the company, about 78.9 million of them belong to him. Amazon's $2.4 billion jumps over the past 48 hours have raised the company's value to such that $93.6 billion of it is personally his.
Following Wednesday's stock-market close, Bezos' total fortune with Amazon and his other investments was valued at $97.9 billion. Business Insider reports that Amazon's Black Friday success has earned him at least an additional $1.7 billion to go with the $3 billion in shares that he holds from rocket company Blue Origin, and his assets as the owner of The Washington Post.
The latest reports also mean that he maintains his grip on Bill Gates as the world's wealthiest man; a distinction that the two have alternated atop throughout the year.
Source: businessinsider.com
