Plunging Amazon stock has cost its founder Jeff Bezos a fortune in a single day and stripped him of the title of the world’s wealthiest person, giving Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates the top spot.
Shares of the world’s biggest online retailer were down around 9 percent to $1,624 during after-hours trading on Thursday as Amazon reported disappointing third-quarter earnings, spooking investors. Despite increased sales, both Amazon’s operating and net income decreased by $500 million and $800 million respectively, the company revealed.
The tumbling stock reportedly cost Bezos $6.9 billion. The losses brought Bezos' fortune, already knocked down by costly divorce with MacKenzie Bezos, down to $103.9 billion, putting him behind Gates, whose net worth is $105.7 billion, according to Forbes.
Also on rt.com It’s not just Amazon: These profitable US corporations paid ZERO taxesMeanwhile, Bloomberg’s calculations showed that at Thursday’s lows, the head of the ecommerce behemoth would have a net worth of $102.8 billion, $5 billion less than Gates.
However, Bloomberg Billionaires Index still puts Bezos ahead of Gates because it won’t be updated until after the markets close on Friday.
Amazon stock rebounded slightly to around $1.670 per share during pre-market trading on Friday, but is trading 6 percent below Thursday's close of $1,780.78.
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