Watch out Bill Gates, there’s someone behind you.
According to Bloomberg, the recent rise in Amazon stock helped Jeff Bezos to add another $1.8 billion to his net worth.
Bezos, Amazon’s CEO is now worth about $84.6 billion total, leaving him just $5 billion shy from passing Bill Gates as the wealthiest person in the world.
Bezos had a great chance of making it, 53 years old, Bezos is focused on aggressively expanding Amazon, while Gates, 61, wants to give most of his money away.
Gates created the Giving Pledge with investing guru Warren Buffett - the fourth wealthiest person with $76.8 billion - in 2010.
The pledge asks billionaires to commit to giving away at least half of their money during their lifetimes. More than 150 people have signed the pledge, but Bezos isn't one of them.
Gates stepped down as Microsoft CEO in 2000, and further distanced himself from day-to-day operations in the years after. He has been working full time on philanthropy for the past few years with his wife, Melinda.
Gates still owns more than 2% of Microsoft, though, so his net worth has continued to climb. Meanwhile, Bezos has made it clear that he's not slowing down.
Despite Amazon’s enormous size and resources, its CEO is famous for his commitment to treat each day at Amazon as if the company is still in its start-up phase. That way of thinking is bound to make him the world’s healthiest man in the not so far away future.
