Jeff Bezos is on track to become the world’s first trillionaire
The Amazon founder is cashing in during the coronavirus pandemic and is on track to record a staggering milestone.
Amid the collapsing economy due to the coronavirus pandemic, Jeff Bezos is expected to come out smelling like a rose – and reach the exalted status of the world’s first trillionaire, according to research.
The Amazon founder, whose fortune is estimated at $143 billion ($A221 billion), up from $125 billion ($A194 billion) on April 12, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index — was trending on Twitter after recent research suggested he could achieve that feat by 2026.
The e-commerce giant’s sales topped $75 billion ($A116 billion) in the first quarter, driven by spiking demand during the pandemic that has kept people at home and relying on at-home delivery services, according to Marketwatch.
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Comparisun, a small-business advice platform, said it analysed market capitalisation of the 25 highest valued companies on the New York Stock Exchange according to Macrotrends, and the net worth of the world’s 25 richest people according to Forbes.
It then calculated the average yearly percentage growth over the last five years and applied that growth rate to come up with an idea of how that value would change in the future.
Bezos, who owns an 11 per cent stake in Amazon, has been the world’s richest person since 2017. He also is one of the world’s five richest people who hasn’t lost money this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Esquire.
If his net worth does reach $1 trillion ($A1.55 trillion), he’d be worth more than the individual GDPs of 179 countries with a combined population of 3.4 billion – 43.7 per cent of all humans alive, the outlet reported.
It’s also worth noting that Bezos had to relinquish much of his wealth to his wife from a divorce proceeding last year.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is also on track to reach the staggering milestone. At his current growth rate, the social media tsar will join the exclusive club in 2036 at the age of 51.
This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission
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