Unic Press UK: Jeff Bezos, an American technology entrepreneur and investor, who’s the founder and chief executive officer of Amazon, is now the world’s third richest person, says Forbes.
The report from Forbes, an American business magazine, reads:
“Jeff Bezos has added $2.6 billion to his fortune in the past day, thanks to a strong quarterly earnings report from Amazon after markets closed on Thursday. His net worth reached a new high of $66.5 billion as of 5:00 p.m. Eastern.
“Bezos gained $1.3 billion during trading on Thursday, passing investor Warren Buffett by $300 million and ending the day as the world’s third richest person; he briefly passed Buffett on Friday for the first time but by end of that day had slipped back to fourth. Bezos then gained another $1.3 billion in after-hours trading on Thursday, putting him $1.5 billion ahead of Buffett.
“As expected, Amazon’s second quarter earnings beat analyst estimates for both profit and revenue. Amazon’s reported profit of $1.78 per share was well above analyst estimates of $1.11 per shares. Revenue grew 31% in the second quarter to $30.4 billion, surpassing analyst estimates by $900 million.
“In April 2016, Bezos had an even bigger bump following Amazon’s first quarter earnings report, gaining $6 billion in after-hours trading. At that time, he was still $9 billion behind Buffett. Since then Amazon stock has risen 24% as of markets close on Thursday while Berkshire Hathaway stock has dropped 2%. Additionally, Buffett made his annual charitable donation in mid-July, which lowered his net worth by $2.9 billion.
“Had he not made those gifts, Buffett would still easily be way ahead of Bezos. Buffett, who says he will give away 99% of his fortune over his lifetime, has already donated $28.9 billion to charity. In 2010, Buffett created the Giving Pledge with the world’s richest man, Microsoft founderBill Gates. The pledge asks billionaires to commit to donating at least half of their wealth to charity. Bezos has made small charitable donations but has not signed the Giving Pledge.”
