According to a report published by Bloomberg's billionaire index, Jeff Bezos has assumed the title of world's richest person, having amassed a net worth of over $105 billion. Forbes, another media conglomerate who tracks the net worths of the world's richest, estimated that Bezos's fortune is at $104.4 billion, which is nearly parallel with Bloomberg's projections.
A majority of Bezos's wealth stems from the 78.9 million shares he owns in stocks with Amazon, which effectively saw a surge of 1.4% on Monday, adding another $1.4 billion into his already overstuffed pockets.
Bezos also holds shares in the Washington Post and Blue Origin, a privately-owned space travel business he eventually intends to take willing tourists to space.
Bezos was awarded the title of world's richest individual back in July, narrowly edging out Bill Gates for the honour. The Amazon CEO officially became the first member of the $100 billion club in November, as shares in the company rose significantly during a typically lucrative holiday season.
Bill Gates takes a place in the runner-up position with an equally staggering net worth of over $92 billion. However, CNN notes how Gates accumulated a fortune of $100 billion back in 1999 due to inflating shares in the Internet. If adjusted for inflation, that cumulative total would now be over $144 billion in 2018.
Furthermore, Gates's massive charitable undertakings see a significant percentage of his earnings given to philanthropic concerns, as CNN also notes he has given over $61.8 billion in shares alone from Microsoft. In the third position is Warren Buffet, with a net worth of $87.2 billion, while Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Amancio Ortega round out the top 5 with $77.5 and $76 billion, respectively.
