Jeff Bezos’ Net Worth Plummets
$5.2 MILLION
Jeff Bezos saw his net worth fall by roughly $5.2 billion due to Amazon shares plummeting on Friday, contributing to his loss.
Bezos launched Amazon in 1994 and holds around 10% of the company. He also owns The Washington Post and Blue Origin – an aerospace firm that develops rockets for space exploration.
Amazon’s Market Value Drops
Amazon was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and is now one of the leading online retailers and Internet companies. Offering products ranging from toilet paper to patio furniture, as well as services like cloud computing, digital entertainment and virtual assistants – its most popular being Prime for two-day shipping at an annual fee.
Furthermore, Amazon operates subsidiary businesses like Twitch, Whole Foods and Ring that support these core offerings.
Amazon shares are declining this year as investors worry that its growth may have reached its limit and needs to slow down. Unfortunately, its earnings report this week wasn’t impressive, causing its share price to dip over 7% while Jeff Bezos’ net worth dropped more than $23 billion following this setback.
But Bezos remains richer than virtually everyone on Earth, having recently returned to the top spot on Forbes’s ranking of the world’s richest people (with Tesla CEO Elon Musk falling to second). Additionally, Mark Zuckerberg fell nearly $140 billion since last year’s record high, and stocks have seen declines around the globe – particularly within tech sectors where fears may have grown that the artificial intelligence boom could be subsiding.
The FTC Sues Amazon
On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission filed suit against Amazon, alleging abuse of dominance to inflate prices both on and off its site, degrade service for customers, and overcharge sellers. Together with 17 state attorneys general, the FTC launched this landmark litigation against Amazon, which claimed this action was biased and unsubstantiated claims from the FTC against it.
The suit alleges that Amazon is incentivized to favor its own products when selecting third-party sellers to promote on its platform while keeping others out by forcing them to use its fulfillment services; sellers who don’t are effectively “disappearing,” inhibiting competition in the fulfillment market and hampering growth.
In their lawsuit, the FTC and states argue that Amazon’s anticompetitive practices allow it to control prices, affecting millions of consumers as well as small businesses reliant on Amazon’s marketplace for sales. Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Michigan, New Jersey, New Hampshire Washington have joined in this case against Amazon.
Lina Khan, Chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), is an advocate of antitrust reform and a longtime critic of Amazon’s business practices. As Chairwoman, she has used regulatory muscle to support legal arguments she first advanced while at Yale Law School titled “Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox.” Since being appointed Chairwoman, she has made waves within antitrust circles.
The Richest People in the World Lose Money
Globally, the world’s richest people lost $280 billion due to a plummeting stock market over the last month alone – particularly those whose wealth is heavily invested in tech sectors like Silicon Valley. Billionaires who hold most of their wealth there were especially affected.
Jeff Bezos of Amazon still ranks third-richest globally with a net worth of around $114 billion and continues to invest heavily in space technology via Blue Origin; recently, they achieved the first successful crewed flight of their New Shepard rocket.
Bezos’ wealth has decreased significantly since last March and his company has lost almost $1.5 trillion since peaking at its value in 2022. Furthermore, in 2022, he paid $500 million for the Koru yacht and has an interest in the LVMH fashion conglomerate, which owns brands like Louis Vuitton and Sephora.
Other tech billionaires have also seen their fortunes wane. Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has seen his net worth decline by more than $15 billion since March. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg experienced his richest day come and go this year and now stands at less than a quarter trillion dollars.
However, many of the world’s wealthiest individuals have recently experienced a decline in wealth for various reasons. Many ultra-wealthy individuals, including Bezos, Zuckerberg and Facebook cofounders Page and Brin, have written letters to political leaders demanding fairer tax rates for wealthy individuals like Bezos, Zuckerberg and Page. Furthermore, Bernard Arnault’s stake in luxury goods company LVMH has seen its value decrease as investors worry about potential trade war impacts on his investments.
Bezos’ Net Worth Plummets
Bezos founded Amazon from his garage in 1994, and since then, it has become the world’s leading e-commerce company. He also invested in various other projects, such as Blue Origin – an aerospace company which develops rockets. Bezos even flew one of Blue Origin’s rockets into space! Additionally, Bezos is known to be extremely generous with his wealth, having pledged $10 billion against climate change and donated another $2 billion towards homeless families and preschool programs.
He’s one of the country’s biggest landowners with multiple properties across the US. He is an avid explorer who often travels by private jet and yacht – his 417-foot luxury yacht Koru is currently on sea trials! Billionaires often purchase luxury yachts as tax write-offs.
Bezos’ net worth has decreased from its peak of $214 billion in July 2021. He remains the richest person on Earth with this figure, but it is significantly down compared to its $214 billion value at that time. Now fourth on the Forbes list behind Elon Musk of Tesla/Twitter/YouTube fame; French luxury goods magnate Bernard Arnault; and Indian businessman Gautam Adani.
Forbes updates their list each day and calculates this sum based on market value/share price; in Bezos’s case, his net worth is determined by adding up all market value/share price for his holdings, which predominantly consist of Amazon shares; when adding these values together, you arrive at Bezos’ net worth calculation method used.
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