Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has once again claimed the position of the world’s richest person dethroning French luxury conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey (LMVH) boss Bernard Arnault on the Forbes Billionaires list. As per Forbes, Arnault on Monday had claimed the number one spot with a net worth of $186.4 billion beating Bezos whose net worth stood at $186 billion. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was at third place with USD 147.3 billion.
Jeff Bezos lost his number one spot after the French billionaire ended the day $800 million richer—with a net worth of $186 billion—after the company’s shares soared nearly half a per cent higher at the close in Europe.
However, the position Arnault took, lasted only for a day. On Tuesday, Bezos’ net worth soared by USD 313 million to USD 189.2 billion, thereby overtaking Arnault who stood at 189.1 billion, an increase of USD 251 million. At third place was yet again Elon Musk with a net worth of USD 155.1 billion.
Bezos to Formally Step Down as CEO on July 5
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has picked a date to step down as CEO.
Bezos, who grew Amazon from an internet bookstore to an online shopping behemoth, said Wednesday that Amazon executive Andy Jassy will take over the CEO role on July 5.
“We chose that date because it’s sentimental for me,” Bezos said during an Amazon shareholder meeting Wednesday. He explained that it was exactly 27 years ago on that date in 1994 that Amazon was incorporated.
Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. announced that Jeff Bezos was stepping down as CEO in February, but didn’t provide a specific date. Jassy, his replacement, currently runs the companys cloud-computing business.
Bezos, 57 and with a personal fortune of $167 billion, won’t be going far. He will become executive chair at Amazon and focus on new products and initiatives. He also plans to focus on his other ventures, such as his rocket ship company, Blue Origin, and his newspaper, The Washington Post.
On Wednesday, Amazon also announced it would buy storied Hollywood studio MGM for $8.45 billion with the hopes of filling its video streaming service with more shows and movies to watch.
