Jeff Bezos Hits a Milestone: He’s the Richest Person on Earth
In July 2018, Amazon’s Prime Day rock‑in’ the market made Jeff Bezos’ net worth sky‑rocket. On July 16th, Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index published the shocking figure: over $150 billion (about S$205 billion). In other words, Bezos was the richest human being on the planet in age‑old times.
How the Numbers Coin Up
- Amazon’s shares jumped, and Jeff owns roughly 16 percent. That boost added $50 billion to his fortune this year alone.
- Bill Gates, the Microsoft pioneer, follows in the second place, with an estimated $95 billion. Gates once reached $100 billion in 1999, but for the better part of two decades Bezos has been holding the crown.
- Other legends like Rockefeller or Carnegie might have had a higher inflation‑adjusted net worth (~$300 billion), but those names belong to the past. Bezos is a fresh monster.
From Bookstore to Giant
Back in 1994, Jeff launched Amazon as an online book‑shop. It’s since exploded into one of the world’s most valuable companies. Think:
- Retail in dozens of countries
- Amazon Web Services—cloud computing giant
- Echo, Kindle, Fire—all the digital gadgets
- AI, video streaming (Prime Video)
- Even groceries, through its Amazon Fresh arm
Last week, Amazon’s market cap shot up to nearly $880 billion—higher than Alphabet (Google’s parent) but still trailing Apple. Prime Day, a 36‑hour sales frenzy for subscribers, delivered over a million deals worldwide. Even with some glitches—customers hit “Amazon dogs” error pages with goofy pup pictures—the day kicked off better than last year’s mess.
Beyond Amazon
Jeff isn’t just a tech billionaire. He also owns Blue Origin, the private space company, and purchased The Washington Post in 2013. Fueling both the Future and informing the present.
In short, Bezos’ share‑price win and Saturday’s Prime Day sales stitched together a banner moment: a single individual towering over others, breaking another milestone in the billionaire club. He’s a Premier’s Prime deliverer, literally.
