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FinanceJeff Bezos

Jeff Bezos Is Just a Few Billion Dollars Away From Becoming the World’s Richest Person

By
Kevin Lui
Kevin Lui
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By
Kevin Lui
Kevin Lui
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 28, 2017, 6:00 AM ET

Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com and founder of aerospace company Blue Origin, is just a few billion dollars away from dethroning Bill Gates to become the world’s richest person.

The wealth of Bezos grew by $3.3 billion on an after-hours surge of Amazon (AMZN) stock Thursday, reports Bloomberg, on the back of the online retail giant’s expectations-beating first quarter results.

Revenue at Amazon has been growing by double digits non-stop for 20 years, reports Bloomberg, with the company making $35.7 billion in sales last quarter. Amazon’s Net profit ballooned this quarter to $724 million, or $1.48 per share, according to Reuters—up from $513 million in the same quarter last year.

Stock price of the e-commerce behemoth, whose Prime subscription service grew by almost 50% in the latest quarter, rose by nearly $50 on news of its strong projections Thursday. Shares reached as high as $965 during after-hours trading after closing at $918.38.

For more about Jeff Bezos, watch Fortune’s video:

Bezos’ own fortune has experienced an even more dramatic growth streak, according to Bloomberg. Having added over $65 billion since March 2012, Jeff Bezos now sits on $79 billion of net worth.

About the Author
By Kevin Lui
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