Coinspeaker
With $114 Billion Jeff Bezos Still Tops the Forbes 400 List

The Forbes list of America’s richest people is out again! Jeff Bezos is still at the top with an estimated fortune of $114 billion. Despite last years’ expensive divorce which saw him give away about 4% of the total company’s value or ($38.3 billion) to his wife McKenzie in July when the marriage was officially dissolved, Jeff remains at the top of Forbes richest 400 with ownership of 12% of the technology giant.

Apart from the stake in Amazon, the Bezos own several other properties and assets across America. These may not be open to public scrutiny but no one knows what may have transpired between Jeff and McKenzie concerning them during the period of their divorce.

One common issue that keeps cropping as far as technology companies are concerned is the intertwining of the founders/CEOs with the corporate identities of these companies. 

It always happens so when CEOs leave an invincible footprint on these corporate organizations. Especially when personal issues such as the death of a loved one or divorce are mentioned. A lot of the time though, it doesn’t seem to have affected the value of the company’s stock just like in Jeff’s case. Many stock experts are even speculating that Amazon could be worth $5,000 per share by 2025.

However, Jeff Bezos has been one of the heavyweights in the technology sector who has guided Amazon from being just an e-commerce company to become one of the big “four”, a group of technology companies that rule technology globally: Microsoft, Google, Apple and of course Amazon!

Amazon was founded on 5th July 1994, by Jeff Bezos after he left an Investment management firm, D.E Shaw and Co. He incorporated with the name Cadabra Inc but changed the name to Amazon shortly after. 

The company which started with selling CDs, computer hardware and software, videos and books didn’t stay small for too long and books blew the company out of the water in 1995. Amazon had its first IPO on May 15, 1997, and traded at $18 per share. By 1999, Bezos was worth $7.6 billion with the company going strong amidst the general situation at the market.

By 2000, at the crash of the dotcom bubble, Amazon was having issues just like any other technology startup of that period. With the stock down about 79% and investor apathy towards technology companies, Bezos was worth about $4.7 Billion.

By 2005, the company’s stock hadn’t recovered as such but a significant event occurred: the launch of Amazon prime express which offered two-day shipping to doors. Bezos net worth that year? $4.8 Billion.

In 2006, Amazon Cloud Services division was introduced and later the launch of Kindle a $399 e-reader was the first of a series of innovations that would propel Amazon to become the undisputed leader in household technology. In 2007, Bezos had a net worth of $8.7 Billion.

By 2010, Amazon Studios was launched and the golden globe was won for best series alongside the Oscar nomination for best picture. Bezos had a net worth of about $12.6 Billion. In 2014 Amazon virtual assistant Alexa was introduced and over time it expanded to a wide range of devices.

In 2015, Amazon decided to go traditional in terms of retail and opened its first retails store. Bezos’ net worth was about $47 Billion. Already by this time the firm had expanded internationally and had its biggest markets in Asia. In late 2017, Amazon prime video was launched in an answer to other streaming services. Already armed with the right cloud infrastructure, the service became a huge hit with subscribers.

In 2018, Jeff Bezos had a net worth of $160 Billion which still stood steady amidst rumors of his infidelity with a friend’s wife Lauren Sanchez. 

Whatever happens, one thing is certain: Jeff Bezos has been one individual who knew how to make things work even when they weren’t working. This extraordinary ability may be what will make pundits predictions come true as per-share price.

Let us also mention that Amazon (AMZN) is currently at $ 1,721.50, which shows a decrease of 0.82% or $14.15 from its previous close at $ 1,735.65. However, it has gained 1.68% since January and has lost 1.14% since the first days of last October.

With $114 Billion Jeff Bezos Still Tops the Forbes 400 List

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