How Amazon founder Jeff Bezos became world's richest man

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who emerged as the world’s richest man at the end of November with a net worth of $100 billion, gained $34.2 billion in 2017, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The Billionaires report asserted that Bezos witnessed the rise in wealth on the back of escalating company’s shares. During November, on optimism for Black Friday sales, the company’s shares jumped more than 2 percent when Jeff Bezos outstripped Bill Gates in wealth.

In one year, the company’s shares have jumped around 66 per cent, from $786 per share to $1176 per share.

By the end of the third quarter ending in September this year, Amazon’s revenue stood at $117.4 billion.

Bill Gates, who lost the world’s richest position to Bezos, ranks second in the Bloomberg richest list with $91.3 billion.

The Bloomberg Billionaires report added that the richest people on earth became $1 trillion richer in 2017, more than four times last year’s gain, as stock markets hit record highs.

By the end of trading Tuesday, Dec. 26, the 500 billionaires controlled $5.3 trillion, up from $4.4 trillion on Dec. 27, 2016.

“It’s part of the second-most robust and second-longest bull market in history,” said Mike Ryan, chief investment officer for the Americas at UBS Wealth Management, on Dec. 18. “Of all the guidance we gave people over the course of this year, the most important advice was staying invested,” he added.

Besides, the 38 Chinese billionaires on the Bloomberg index added $177 billion in 2017, a 65 percent gain that was the biggest of the 49 countries represented.

Hui Ka Yan, founder of developer China Evergrande Group, added $25.9 billion, a 350 percent jump from last year, and the second-biggest U.S. dollar gain on the index, after Bezos.

It was also a banner year for tech moguls, with the 57 technology billionaires on the index adding $262 billion, a 35 percent increase that was the most of any sector on the ranking.

The U.S. has the largest presence on the index, with 159 billionaires who added $315 billion, an 18 percent gain that gives them a collective net worth of $2 trillion.