How Bill Gates overtook Jeff Bezos to become world’s richest man, again
Former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates has made nearly US$20 billion so far in 2019 alone – while Jeff Bezos has lost US$16 billion, pushing the Amazon CEO back to second place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index
Former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates has narrowly unseated Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, as the richest person on the planet. As of November 18, Gates had a net worth of US$110 billion, according to the daily Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Bezos is just below, at US$109 billion.
According to the list, Gates’ fortune has increased by US$19.5 billion this year, while Bezos’ has fallen by US$16.2 billion. The first time Gates was named the richest person in the world was 1995 – when he had a net worth of US$12.9 billion.
Lurking just behind Gates and Bezos on the list is French retail mogul Bernard Arnault, the owner of luxury conglomerate LVMH, whose US$103 billion fortune has increased by about a third – US$34.1 billion – this year.
Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett is fourth, with US$86.6 billion, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg rounds out the top five at US$74.5 billion.
Let’s look at the top two rich list rivals head-to-head:
Bill Gates
Age: 64 years
Total net worth: US$110 billion
Year to date change: +US$19.5 billion