Amazon founder Jeff Bezos becomes world’s richest man

According to Forbes, Bezos’ net worth was estimated at $90.6 billion as at Thursday morning when he gained $1.4 billion in the stock market.

If that holds through the 4 p.m. close, Bezos, 53, will leapfrog Microsoft co-founder Gates on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Bezos owns about 81 million shares of Amazon, or roughly 17% of the company, according to FactSet.

Forbes pointed out that Gates could have been considerably wealthier, having given away more than United States dollars 30 billion to philanthropic causes over the years. Earlier this week, Gates’ net worth was around $90 billion, while that of Bezos was $89 billion, according to Bloomberg and Forbes.

A rally in e-retail behemoth Amazons share price on Thursday propelled founder Jeff Bezos to the top of a list of the worlds richest individuals, media reported. Today, Bezos’ net worth easily rises or falls by that amount with small moves in Amazon’s stock because he owns almost 17% of the tech giant, which has a $503 billion market capitalization.

Bezos will keep that title as long as stock prices remain stable throughout the day Thursday.

Bezos becomes the seventh person to be crowned world’s richest person since the magazine started tracking billionaires around the globe 30 years ago.

The Amazon boss’ brief stint as the world’s richest was the first time since May 2013 that Gates, 61, was not number one.

“Our teams remain heads-down and focused on customers”, Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, said in announcing the earnings. He has already used his wealth to buy Washington Post and invested in space travel through Blue Origin.