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Forbes: Amazon CEO Bezos Was Briefly the World's Richest Man

Forbes said Bezos' net worth was about $90.6 billion when the market opened Thursday. Bill Gates had $90.1 billion reclaiming the title for richest man

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos briefly became the world's richest man Thursday in Forbes magazine's tracking of wealth, as stock in his e-commerce company hit an all-time high.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates reclaimed the lead by afternoon, as Amazon's stock fell nearly 1 percent for the day to $1,046.

Amazon shares have been trading at a record high. They hit $1,083.31 at about noon Thursday. According to securities filings, Bezos owns about 80 million shares, or 17 percent; those shares were valued at more than $87 billion at the peak. Bezos also owns The Washington Post through a holding company.

Forbes said Bezos' net worth was about $90.6 billion when the market opened Thursday. Gates had $90.1 billion. Forbes said Gates would have been the undisputed leader had he not given billions of dollars away to various philanthropic causes. Bezos issued a request for philanthropic ideas in a tweet in June, just before Amazon announced a $13.7 billion deal for organic grocer Whole Foods.

The changes in Bezos' fortune coincided with Amazon's quarterly earnings report. Shares fell another 2 percent in after-markets trading as the company reported net income of $197 million, or 40 cents per share, in the second quarter, down from $857 million, or $1.78 per share, a year ago. Revenue grew 25 percent to $38 billion, compared with $30 billion.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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