On Friday, Microsoft founder Bill Gates surpassed Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to reclaim the distinction of richest person in the world. Now, according to latest estimated, Gates has a net worth of $110 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
It’s the first time the co-founder of Microsoft has held the top spot in over two years. He briefly topped Bezos last month after Amazon’s profit fell nearly 28% after September. Unfortunately, Gates’ reign at the top was short-lived.
He has regained the lead because Microsoft shares are up nearly 48% this year, which helped boost the value of his stake in the company. In October, Microsoft beat out Amazon for a $10 billion cloud-computing contract with the Pentagon, adding some additional drama to the Gates/Bezos wealth race.
Bezos, who this year paid out a significant portion of his Amazon stake in his divorce from his wife of 25 years MacKenzie Bezos, now sits at second with a net worth of $108.7 billion.
Bill Gates recently commented on his wealth in response to a wealth tax proposed by some Democratic political candidates, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
He said he’s paid more than $10 billion in taxes already and it would be fine with him to up that to $20 billion. However, having to pay $100 billion would prompt him to start “to do a little math about what I have left over.”
MacKenzie and Jeff Bezos divorced after 25 years of marriage after a King County, Washington judge formalized the separation. So, around 19.7 million shares of Amazon.com Inc. was transferred to MacKenzie’s name.
That 4% holding is valued at $38.3 billion, enough to place her 22nd on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a ranking of the world’s 500 richest people. Her former husband, the founder and chief executive officer of the world’s largest online retailer and web-services company, retains a 12% stake worth $114.8 billion and remains the world’s wealthiest person.
