Amazon founder Jeff Bezos becomes the fourth richest person in the world, overtaking Carlos Slim
Important news for billionaire watchers: last night Amazon founder Jeff Bezos became the fourth-richest person in the world, after a rally in the online retailer caused him to breeze past Mexican telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim.
Amazon shares finished yesterday 0.64 per cent up, at $4.19. According to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index, that pushes his fortune up to $58.2bn – just over Slim's $57.2bn wedge.
To be fair, Bezos has had a good year. Shares in Amazon have risen from $310.3 at the end of last year, to $659.7 at the close of trading last night. That' s a rise of 113 per cent.
Meanwhile, Slim lost $15.4bn during the same period. Ouch.
Amazon shares jumped last month after the online retail giant posted a 23 per cent rise in net sales in the third quarter of 2015, which net income rose to $79bn.
The company is now gearing up for the shopping frenzy that is Black Friday, which landed in the UK with a bang last year.
"I suspect that Amazon will more than do well on Black Friday in the UK [in 2015]," said analyst David Buik.
"It will be a far better barometer of retail activity than the average retailer will report."
