The reign of Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos as the world’s richest person on Thursday only lasted for a few hours as Microsoft founder, Bill Gates takes over the number one spot again.
Shares of the online retailer had surged as U.S. markets opened, and climbed as much as 2.9 percent just before noon in New York, giving Bezos a net worth of $92.3 billion. Then, with investors bracing for the Seattle-based company to report second-quarter results after the close, the shares tumbled. Amazon fell 0.7 percent on the day, leaving Bezos with $89.3 billion and keeping him in second place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Gates, the 61-year-old Microsoft Corp. co-founder, has held the top ranking since May 2013.
Amazon dropped further in extended trading, sliding 1.9 percent to $1,026 at 4:37 p.m. in New York, after reporting earnings that missed estimates and forecasting a possible operating loss for the third quarter.
Bezos, 53, owns about 17 percent of Seattle-based Amazon, which has surged 39 percent this year, helping to add $23.9 billion to his net worth. He started 2017 as the world’s fourth-wealthiest person and has since surpassed Inditex SA founder Amancio Ortega, 81, who ranks third, and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman Warren Buffett, 86.
