Amazon Boss Jeff Bezos' Wealth Has Risen To $150 Billion Since Beginning Of Pandemic

Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos' wealth has exploded to $150 billion - a net worth increase of almost $35 billion since the start of the year.

In March, the company said had a surge in demand, hiring 175,000 new employees in order to fulfil as many orders as possible, with the company's share price increasing to $2,483 on Friday.

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The biggest shareholder of the firm is Bezos, who has more than 55 million shares - making him fairly well off.

He has hit the $150 billion milestone before, back in July 2018, making him not only the richest person in the world, but modern history too.

In fact, the Amazon founder is on track to to be the world's first trillionaire by 2026, according to Comparisun.

The business software comparison site used data collected from the last five years of the Forbes Rich List to calculate the yearly wealth growth rate of the world's richest billionaires.

Applying this annual growth rate over the coming years, the study concluded that Bezos - who is estimated to be worth over $140bn (£112bn) - could become the world's first trillionaire in 2026, at which point he will be 62.

The research also forecasts that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg could become the youngest trillionaire in the world 10 years later in 2036, when he will be 51 years old.

Amazon - and therefore Bezos - is doing particularly well at the moment, with the demand for online shopping at an all-time high due to the fact that physical shopping isn't really a thing right now.

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This in turn has seen the company's share prices increase, which is handy when you have an 11.2 percent stake in the company. On top of this, Bezos managed to sell off a whopping $3.4bn (£2.79bn) worth at exactly the right moment in March before their value initially tanked amid Covid-19 uncertainty.

The 56-year-old has contributed a portion of his burgeoning wealth to help those in need during the pandemic though. Last month, he donated $100 million (£80m) to US food banks - which are struggling to feed a growing number of Americans who have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus crisis.

Topics: jeff bezos, Amazon

Amelia Ward

Amelia is a journalist at LADbible. After studying journalism at Liverpool John Moores and Salford Uni (don't ask), she went into PR and then the world of music. After a few years working on festivals and events, she went back to her roots. In her spare time, Amelia likes music, Liverpool FC, and spending good, quality time with her cat, Paul. You can contact Amelia at [email protected].

@ameliasward