Bezos Pushes Warren Buffett Off The Podium, Becomes World's Third-Richest Person

Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos is now the third-richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The exec is now worth $65.05 billion — as of Thursday, surpassing Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B)’s Warren Buffett by $32 million.

The podium, which previously included the legendary investor, is now completed by Spaniard Amancio Ortega, founder of the famed clothing brand Zara, and Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corporation MSFT. According to Bloomberg’s data, Ortega is worth roughly $73 billion, while Gates is worth $89 billion. It should be noted, however, that Buffett lost $2.2 billion in value after donating that amount in stock to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation — as he does every year. Nonetheless, his net worth is still up $2.7 billion for 2016, mostly on the back of Berkshire’s stock performance.

On the other hand, and despite the market volatility, Bezos managed to boost his fortune by$5.4 billion this year.

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As pointed out by Bloomberg, most of Bezos’ wealth derives from Amazon, which has seen its stock gain more than 10 percent since the year started, and 55 percent from its February lows.

Furthermore, Bezos could continue to escalate in this rank, surpassing Ortega. “Carlos Kirjner of Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. set his Amazon price target at $1,000 in May, 34 percent above Thursday’s close of $744.43,” Bloomberg’s Tom Metcalf said. “With the stock at that price, Bezos’s fortune would be about $86 billion, just under Gates’s current level.”

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Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no interest in any of the securities or entities mentioned above.