Jeff Bezos world’s richest again with $113bn as coronavirus sees number of billionaires fall
AMAZON founder Jeff Bezos is the richest person in the world once more despite a record-breaking divorce payout and a global economy devastated by the cornavirus.
The tech tycoon is now worth $113billion – a $18bn drop from his $131bn in 2019 – even after giving a huge slice of his fortune to ex wife Mackenzie.
He briefly lost the top spot to former Microsoft chairman Bill Gates in October after the biggest divorce in history and seeing his company shares tumble in value.
However, the new Forbes’ Richest Billionaires List shows Bezos – now dating Lauren Sanchez – is now back on top despite dozens of others seeing their fortunes ravaged by the outbreak.
The list emerged as it was revealed the virus had killed over 12,000 people and infected more than 400,000 in the US alone.
The pandemic has also cut the number of billionaires on the annual list by 58 from to 2,095, it's now been revealed.
"Of the billionaires who remain, 51 per cent are poorer than they were last year," Forbes said.
"In raw terms, the world's billionaires are worth $8 trillion, down $700 billion from 2019."
MacKenzie Bezos did, however, make her first appearance on the list, thanks to the $36bn settlement.
As part of the divorce deal, she got 25 per cent of the couple's Amazon stock worth and now ranks 22nd.
Microsoft co-founder Gates is in second place with a $98 billion fortune, an increase of $1.5 billion.
The 64 year old has pledged $100m to help fight COVID-19 via his Bill and Melinda Gate Foundation.
FORBES 10 RICHEST BILLIONAIRES 2020
1 Jeff Bezos $113bn (2020) $131bn (2019)
2 Bill Gates $98bn(2020) $96.5bn (2019)
3 Bernard Arnault $76bn (2020) $76bn (2019)
4 Warren Buffett $67.5bn (2020) $82.5bn (2019)
5 Larry Ellison $59bn (2020) $62.5bn (2019)
6 Amanico Ortega $55.1bn (2020) $62.7bn (2019)
7 Mark Zuckerberg $54.7bn (2020) $62.3bn (2019)
8 Jim Walton $54.6bn (2020) $44.6bn (2019)
9 Alice Walton $54.4billion (2020) $44.4bn (2019)
10 Rob Walton $54.1billion (2020) $44.3bn (2019)
Bezos has donated the same amount to Feeding America – as food banks become swamped across the US.
Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of luxury magnate LVMH nudged Warren Buffett out of third place with a $76 bn fortune.
At $67.5 bn, Buffett's fortune landed in fourth place.
The world's richest woman is still Walmart heir Alice Walton who is in ninth place with $54.4bn.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's worth has dropped almost $8bn to $54.7bn.
His Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has promised to quadruple the coronavirus testing capacity of the San Francisco Bay area.
As well as MacKenzie Bezos, there are 177 other new faces on the list.
Eric Yuan, the founder and CEO of Zoom now ranks at number 293 with $5.5 billion.
His company's stock soared when his software started being widely used by people working from home during the pandemic.
However, in the two months between January 31 to March 31, nearly all the world's wealthiest tycoons lost substantial amounts of money, according to a new report by wealth-list compiler Hurun Research.
But China has emerged relatively unscathed.
Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report chairman and chief researcher explained to Market Watch: “China has been the relative winner, with its stock markets weathering the virus better than its U.S. and European counterparts."
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