Bill Gates reclaims ‘richest’ throne from Amazon’s Bezos

Bill Gates has donated more than $35 billion since 1994 through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates regained his status as the world’s richest person for the first time in two years on Friday, topping Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Bloomberg reported.

The Bloomberg Billionaire Index that tracks the wealth of the richest 500 people is updated after US markets close, so Gates briefly had the upper hand last month after Amazon posted a profit drop, but the company’s shares “pared the decline,” according to the Bloomberg report.

Gates’ rise in the rankings may have been helped, in part, by the Pentagon signing a $10 billion cloud-computing contract with Microsoft instead of Amazon.

The 25 October deal prompted a surge in Microsoft shares while Amazon’s stock plummeted by about 2% after the announcement.

Though he only owns roughly 1% of Microsoft shares, but as Business Insider reported earlier this year, “that 1% is estimated to be worth around $7.3 billion.”

The stock market boost shifted Gates’ net worth to $110 billion, while Bezos is at $108.7 billion.

Bezos’s fortune also took a hit following his divorce from MacKenzie Bezos, who received a quarter of their Amazon holdings in the split.

Bloomberg also noted that Gates could have had a higher net worth, but he has donated more than $35 billion since 1994 through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (Business Insider)