- Jeff Bezos is the richest he’s ever been.
- The Amazon founder’s net worth soared to an all-time high of $228 billion on Wednesday, per Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.
- Amazon’s stock reached its own record high on Wednesday, fueling Bezos’ wealth jump.
The rich are getting richer since Donald Trump was elected president, and Jeff Bezos is no exception.
His net worth hit a record high of $228 billion on Wednesday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That’s up $7 billion from his previous high of $221 billion, which he first reached in July and again on Tuesday.
Amazon’s stock, which had already jumped last week on the back of a strong earnings report, surged following Tuesday’s election, closing at an all-time high share price of $207.09 on Wednesday. The rally helped the Nasdaq 100, the index on which Amazon is listed, reach a record high.
The vast majority of Bezos’ fortune is tied to the company’s stock, which is up more than 40% year-to-date; he owns more than 926 million of the company’s shares or just under 9% of Amazon’s stock.
The fortunes of the world’s five richest people — including Bezos — soared along with the market on Wednesday after Trump won the presidential election. Collectively, the billionaires gained nearly $53 billion by the end of the day’s trading, which saw investors betting on less regulation and corporate tax cuts under a second Trump administration.
Bezos is the second-richest person in the world, topped only by Elon Musk, a vocal supporter of Trump’s campaign. The Tesla CEO’s net worth climbed $26.5 billion on Wednesday to reach $290 billion, per Bloomberg.
Bezos congratulated Trump on his win on Wednesday, calling it an “extraordinary political comeback.”
The billionaire had not endorsed a candidate this presidential cycle — and had guided The Washington Post, which he owns, to do the same. The controversial decision of the paper not to endorse a presidential candidate for the first time in decades led to a number of resignations from the paper and reportedly caused more than 250,000 people to cancel their subscriptions.
Both Musk and Bezos had stakes in the election: Their private space companies, SpaceX and Blue Origin, respectively, rely on government contracts. Bezos’ Blue Origin was chosen in June to be a preferred provider for $5.6 billion worth of Pentagon contracts and was awarded a $3.4 billion contract by NASA last year.
Read the full article here
