Jeff Bezos’ personal wealth surpassed the $200 billion threshold this week, placing the Amazon CEO firmly ahead of Tesla CEO Elon Musk in their ongoing battle for the title of world’s richest person.
Bezos’ net worth was $202.3 billion as of Friday, according to Forbes’ calculations. French businessman Bernard Arnault was the world’s second-richest person with a net worth of $182.8 billion, while Musk ranked third with a personal net worth of $172.5 billion.
The Amazon founder had previously surpassed the $200 billion threshold last August as pandemic-induced buying drove the e-commerce giant’s stock to new highs. Bezos is Amazon’s largest individual shareholder.
The latest surge in Bezos’ net worth occurred after Amazon posted strong first-quarter earnings. The company’s sales surged 44% to more than $108 billion, surpassing internal expectations. Bezos is expected to step down as Amazon CEO later this year.
Amazon shares are up more than 9% so far this year. The company’s steep share price has prompted speculation that executives may soon institute a stock split to lower the barrier of entry for investors.
Bezos and Musk have jockeyed for the top position on Forbes’ billionaires' list for months. The Tesla founder ranked as the world’s richest person as recently as late last month.
The two billionaires have also established a rivalry in the aerospace industry, where Bezos’ Blue Origin and Musk’s SpaceX have emerged as leading private space exploration firms.
Earlier this month, Musk poked fun at Bezos after Bue Origin protested NASA’s decision to award a lucrative lunar lander contract to SpaceX.
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