Jeff Bezos Says It's 'Fine Being The Second Wealthiest Person In The World' – He Never Set Out To Be The 'Richest'

While Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk now alternate as the richest people on the planet, Bezos dominated the top spot a few years back. But in 2018, when he was asked about this title at the Economic Club of Washington, he made it clear that being the richest man in the world wasn’t something he ever aimed for.

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“I can assure you I've never sought that title, and it was fine being the second wealthiest person in the world. That actually worked fine,” Bezos said. For him, titles like “inventor” or “entrepreneur” held far more significance. “I would much rather if they said, like, I'm ‘inventor Jeff Bezos’ or ‘entrepreneur Jeff Bezos’ or, you know, ‘father Jeff Bezos.’ Those kinds of things are much more meaningful to me.“

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Bezos also explained his approach to Amazon's stock price volatility, urging his team not to get too caught up in the fluctuations. “Almost every All Hands meeting, I said, ‘Look, when the stock is up 30% in a month, don't feel 30% smarter, because when the stock is down 30% in a month, it's not going to feel so good to feel 30% dumber.' And that's what happens,” he said.

He quoted Warren Buffett, who often cites Benjamin Graham: “In the short run, the stock market is a voting machine; in the long run, it's a weighing machine.” Bezos emphasized that the focus should be on building a company that will be weighed favorably in the long term, rather than worrying about the daily stock price. “Just let it be weighed and never spend time thinking about the daily stock price.”

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During the interview, Bezos also touched on his broader impact through Amazon. Owning 16% of the company, which was worth around a trillion dollars at the time, meant that Amazon had created $840 billion in wealth for others. “That's really what we've done, from a financial point of view,” Bezos said, reflecting on the company’s success.

Bezos also shared a lighthearted moment with Bill Gates, who had held the title of the world’s richest man for nearly two decades. “I saw Bill not too long ago, and we were joking about the world’s richest man thing. I basically said, ‘Thank you,’ and he immediately turned to me and said, ‘You’re welcome.'”

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At the time, Bezos was also focused on philanthropy, announcing a $2 billion commitment to fund early education and support homeless families. He was particularly excited about creating Montessori-inspired preschools in low-income neighborhoods, driven by his belief in the importance of early childhood education.

“There's no doubt that if a kid falls behind, it's really, really hard to catch up,” Bezos explained. “If you can give somebody a leg up when they're two, three, or four years old, by the time they get to kindergarten or first grade, they're much less likely to fall behind.”

Ultimately, Bezos’ reflections from 2018 offer insight into a man who values the impact of his work and the legacy he's building rather than the titles and wealth that often come with success. He maintained his status as "richest man in the world" from 2017 to 2021. Now, he is sitting at second with a net worth of $190 billion, according to Bloomberg. 

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