The world’s richest man became even richer on Wednesday and set a new record thanks to the continued success of Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN stock.
What Happened: Forbes reports that Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is now worth about $204.68 billion, gaining $4.9 billion earlier in the day. He became the first to hit the $200 billion wealth amount.
Forbes has tracked the wealth of individuals for four decades and believes this is a record even with inflation.
Amazon shares have climbed 81% in 2020, closing Wednesday at $3,441.85. Bezos gets 90% of his tracked net wealth from his 11% stake in Amazon shares. He also owns The Washington Post and Blue Origin.
See Also: Why Bezos Selling $3B In Amazon Shares Is Anything But Earth-Shaking
Last year, Bezos was part of the largest divorce settlement in history when he separated with wife MacKenzie Scott. Bezos gave 25% of his AMZN shares to Scott. That stake is now worth $63 billion. Scott has given away $1.7 billion of her shares, but remains the second richest woman in the world and 14th richest person.
Big Boys Club: Microsoft Corporation MSFT founder Bill Gates became the first centibillionaire in 1999. With inflation, Forbes believes that would be worth $158 billion today. Gates is the second richest man in the world with a wealth of $116.1 billion.
Facebook Inc FB founder Mark Zuckerberg became a brand new centibillionaire on Tuesday hitting a wealth of $103.1 billion.
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