- Title: Jeff Bezos becomes world’s richest man - Forbes
- Date: 27th July 2017
- Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (JULY 27, 2017) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) DECISION ECONOMICS, SENIOR ADVISER AND CHIEF U.S. ECONOMIST, CARY LEAHEY SAYING: "What you have to remember is the market is making him rich based on his ownership of Amazon, and Amazon is not making a heck of a lot of money. The market is saying that, at some point in time, they will generate so much market share that they can set their own prices. This is extremely profitable, and that's so he's done what he's he's done. So it's really a tribute to someone who latched on to the strength of the so-called new economy, and Internet economy, and has ridden it."
- Embargoed: 10th August 2017 16:10
- Keywords: Jeff Bezos Amazon Blue Origin Washington Post retail selling internet ecommerce
- Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, AND WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES, UNKNOWN LOCATION
- City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, AND WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES, UNKNOWN LOCATION
- Country: USA
- Topics: Company News Markets,Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA0036RHUBT3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Amazon.com Inc Chief Executive Jeff Bezos has unseated fellow tech billionaire Bill Gates as the richest person in the world, profiting from the e-commerce company's meteoric stock rise to reach a fortune of $90.6 billion, Forbes reported on Thursday (July 27).
Amazon shares jumped 1.6 percent at the start of trading on Thursday, boosting the net worth of Bezos - the company's founder and largest shareholder - by $1.4 billion, according to Forbes, which tracks the world's wealthiest.
The stock was up ahead of Amazon's second-quarter earnings report after Thursday's market close. Analysts expect the world's largest online retailer will report that its sales jumped 22 percent to $37.2 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Bezos, a relative newcomer to the top of Forbes' list, has benefited from the seemingly boundless expansion of Amazon into new markets. The once-bookseller plans to acquire Whole Foods Market Inc, at the same time it is making strides in the fashion business, Hollywood, enterprise computing and general retail from India to Mexico.
Reuters could not independently verify the wealth of Bezos or Microsoft Corp's co-founder Gates. A philanthropist, Gates has given $31.1 billion to charitable causes through 2016 and has a net worth of $90.1 billion, Forbes said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
