How Much Is Jeff Bezos Worth?
Amazon CEO and co-founder Jeff Bezos has a net worth of $185 billion as of Nov. 30, according to Forbes.
In 2017, Bezos surpassed Bill Gates to become the richest person in the world.
The Forbes 2020 Billionaire list named Jeff Bezos the world’s wealthiest person for the third year in a row, despite giving $36 billion worth of his Amazon stock to his ex-wife MacKenzie Bezos as part of their divorce settlement in 2019.
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The business icon has amassed astounding wealth — and significant controversy over how much he pays workers and donates to charity — while using Amazon to disrupt virtually every consumer industry.
Keep reading to see how Bezos’ ideas changed the way you live, and how he made an absolute fortune in the process.
Jeff Bezos Net Worth: $185B
At the time Forbes releases its annual billionaire ranking, Bezos’ net worth was $113 billion; Bill Gates trailed behind in the No. 2 spot at $98 billion. Bezos’ wealth has grown throughout 2020 as Americans relied on Amazon more than ever to do their shopping amid the coronavirus pandemic, leading the company’s stock price to rise.
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Jeff Bezos’ Charitable Giving Lower Than Other Billionaires
Despite his multibillionaire status, Bezos has not been known for his philanthropy. Unlike Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, Bezos has not committed to donating the lion’s share of his wealth through The Giving Pledge.
He did not make Philanthropy.com’s annual list of America’s largest donors until 2018 when he launched a $2 billion fund, the Day One Fund, for education programs for the homeless, Business Insider reported. In February, he announced that he would be donating $10 billion to help fight climate change through the Bezos Earth Fund. He also announced a $100 million donation to the nonprofit Feed America in April.
Jeff Bezos’ Start as an Entrepreneur
Started in July 1995, Amazon offers a slew of products and services to customers around the globe, which helped it become the fastest company ever to reach $100 billion in annual sales — a feat achieved in 2015.
Amazon issued an IPO in May 1997, but the man behind the online retail giant still retains an 11.2% stake in the company. Amazon is Bezos’ main focus, but the consumer-friendly company is not his only business venture.
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In 2013, Bezos became one of the largest players in the news industry after he purchased The Washington Post for $250 million. The billionaire entrepreneur also founded the rocket company Blue Origin, which is developing reusable rockets to shuttle passengers to and from space.
In March 2017, Bezos purchased Dubai-based online retailer Souq.com. The final purchase price was not revealed. However, Dubai’s state-backed Emaar Malls PJSC announced it made an $800-million bid for Souq.com just before Amazon closed its deal, according to an AP report.
Jeff Bezos’ Real Estate Ventures
In 2016, Bezos spent $23 million to purchase the 27,000-square-foot former Textile Museum in Kalorama, a swanky Washington, D.C., neighborhood. The property consists of two historic mansions that are on the National Register of Historic Places. Despite the major investment, the primary Bezos family residence remained in Washington state.
Located in the suburb of Medina, Washington, the main Bezos residence is a 29,000-square-foot compound not far from Amazon’s headquarters. Originally a 13,000-square-foot home, Bezos’ 5.35-acre waterfront property underwent a $28 million renovation to transform it into a sprawling oasis, according to Forbes.
In February, Bezos purchased a nine-acre Beverly Hills, California-area estate for $165 million, a record sale for a private residence in Los Angeles County, The Hollywood Reporter reported.
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Jeff Bezos’ Luxury Toys
Immediately after becoming rich, Bezos didn’t head straight to the car dealership. Despite owning roughly $10 billion in Amazon stock in 1999, Bezos was reported by CNBC to still be driving a Honda Accord. That said, Bezos isn’t always a rich person that lives like an average Joe.
Along with his impressive real estate portfolio, Bezos has amassed a fleet of private jets — including a Gulfstream and a Dassault Falcon-900EX — for his personal travel needs. His limited liability company, Poplar Glen, paid $5.5 million for a hangar at Seattle’s Boeing Field to store his jets in 2015.
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Sean Dennison, Karen Doyle, Rachel Holly Farrow and Gabrielle Olya contributed to the reporting for this article.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: How Much Is Jeff Bezos Worth?
