By Berber Jin and Jack Witzig
Jeff Bezos’s net worth has smashed through its previous peak, even after he relinquished a quarter of his stake in
Amazon.com Inc. as part of a divorce settlement last year.
Shares of the Seattle-based retailer surged 4.4% to a record $2,878.70 Wednesday, boosting the founder’s world-leading fortune to $171.6 billion. That tops his previous high of $167.7 billion, set on Sept. 4, 2018, according to
the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
His gains - $56.7 billion this year alone - underscore a widening wealth gap in the U.S. during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Initial public offerings and buoyant equity markets have bolstered mega-fortunes, even as tens of millions of people have lost their jobs. This week, after receiving complaints about ending pandemic hazard pay, Amazon said it would spend about $500 million to give one-time $500 bonuses to most front-line workers.
The company declined to comment on its founder’s wealth.
Amazon has been on a tear, with the pandemic accelerating the consumer shift to e-commerce from brick-and-mortar retail. Bezos owns 11% of the stock, which comprises the bulk of his fortune.
Most of those with the biggest wealth gains also hail from the tech sector. They include
Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, who added $25.8 billion to his fortune since Jan. 1, and Zoom Video Communications Inc. founder Eric Yuan, whose wealth has almost quadrupled to $13.1 billion.
Mackenzie Bezos, who acquired a 4% stake in Amazon after the couple split, has a net worth of $56.9 billion and climbed to No. 12 in Bloomberg’s ranking. She recently leapfrogged Alice Walton and Julia Flesher Koch to become the world’s second-wealthiest woman, and now trails only L’Oreal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers.
Not every billionaire has come out ahead this year. Spain’s Amancio Ortega, the titan behind the Zara fast-fashion brand, has lost $19.2 billion, the most of anyone on the Bloomberg index. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman Warren Buffett has dropped $19 billion and French luxury-goods tycoon Bernard Arnault is down $17.6 billion.
But most have weathered the downturn. The collective net worth of the world’s 500 richest people now stands at $5.93 trillion, compared with $5.91 trillion at the beginning of the year.
Heartaches Of 2019: Bezos’s $38 Bn Settlement, Arjun-Mehr Divorce, And Nicolas Cage’s Gone-...
Year Of Heartbreaks
24 Dec, 2019
2019 was a year of heartbreak.
Long-term unions, marriages and relationships came to an end, and broke our hearts.
From Amazon boss Jeff Bezos's 25 years of togetherness, Dia Mirza's 11-year-long relationship to the four-day marriage of Nicolas Cage, this year saw celebrities headed for splitsville.
Here's a look at all the separation news that made us realise how true love suffered in the year gone by .
Jeff & Mackenzie Bezos
24 Dec, 2019
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and MacKenzie had the business and the rest of the world in shock when they called it quits after 25 years of marriage in January. The billionaire couple, who have four children, finalised their divorce in July, which ensured a spot for the 49-year-old MacKenzie in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
She became approximately $ 19.7 million richer when she received a four per cent stake in the form of Amazon.com shares. She also joined the list of the world's ultra-wealthy philanthropists when she promised to donate half her fortune to charity as a signatory of the Giving Pledge before the settlement came through.
Even though the 55-year-old CEO retained a 12 per cent stake in the company, later, in November, Microsoft founder Bill Gates triumphed him as the world's richest man.
The National Enquirer’s reports about Bezos dating a former news anchor, Lauren Sánchez, were confirmed when they were spotted together for dinner dates, holidays and sporting events.
Dia Mirza & Sahil Sangha
24 Dec, 2019
11 years of togetherness ended when actress Dia Mirza and producer-husband Sahil Sangha released a joint statement announcing their separation in August. In their social media posts, the couple wrote that they have 'mutually decided to separate', but will remain friends.
Days after their announcement, a new controversy erupted where the film-maker was said to be in an intimate relationship with 'Judgementall Hai Kya' screenwriter Kanika Dhillon (who also split from director-husband Prakash Kovelamudi around the same time). Mirza took to Twitter to put these rumours to rest, and expressed disappointment at the level of irresponsibility.
Miley Cyrus & Liam Hemsworth
24 Dec, 2019
Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth stayed in the news this year for their loveable Insta posts after getting married in December last year, and a quick separation in August.
Within days, there were reports suggesting Hemsworth's battle with heavy drinking and drug habit forced Cyrus to end the relationship, while another source from 'The Hunger Games' actor's camp claimed that the 'Wrecking Ball' singer's infidelity was the reason.
The 26-year-old singer took to social media to confirm the news and said she can admit a lot of things, but cannot accept being called a liar who is covering up a crime she hasn't committed. She denied cheating rumours.
The couple had tied the knot at a private ceremony in Franklin, Tennessee after dating on and off for many years. They first met while shooting for the movie 'The Last Song' in 2008, and then the actor proposed to Cyrus in 2016 for the second time.
Arjun Rampal & Mehr Jesia
24 Dec, 2019
After 21 years of togetherness, Arjun Rampal and Mehr Jesia decided to split.
According to a Mumbai Mirror report, a Bandra court granted divorce by mutual consent under the Special Marriage Act, nearly six months after they had approached the court to dissolve their marriage on April 30, 2019.
The reports suggest that the couple's two daughters will reside with their mother at their duplex in Bandra. Reports of a split between the couple first emerged in 2011, but it was only at the end of May 2018 that they officially announced their separation, four months after Arjun moved out of their shared home into a rented 2 BHK.
The actor-turned-producer recently welcomed a son with South African model-girlfriend Gabriella Demetriades in July this year.