Microsoft founder Bill Gates has retaken the title of world’s richest man a few hours after he was overtaken by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.
Currently, Bill Gates’ real time net worth stands at $89.7 billion compared to Bezos’ $85 billion.
The 53-year-old king of e-commerce snatched away the mantle of world’s wealthiest person from 61-year-old Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, thanks to a morning surge in Amazon stock, according to a minute-by-minute Forbes ranking.
Soon after the stock market opened, shares of Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, spiked 1.8 percent — pushing Bezos’ net worth to $90 billion, surpassing Gates’ $89 billion.
But Bezos’ reign lasted only four hours, and by the 4 p.m. close of the market, his net worth had slumped to a meager $88.7 billion, dropping him below Gates — who had topped the list since 2013 — at $89.8 billion.
As of Thursday night, Spanish retailing tycoon Amancio Ortega Gaona, 81, was ranked third at $83.5 billion, while legendary Omaha investor Warren Buffett, 86, was fourth at $74.4 billion.
Rounding out the top five was 33-year-old Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at $70.9 billion.
Bezos currently owns about 80 million shares — 17 percent — of Amazon, which he founded in 1994, selling books out of his Seattle garage.
The online behemoth seems to sell just about everything — and delivers frighteningly fast. Last month, Amazon surprisingly went full steam ahead into brick-and-mortar retailing by buying the Whole Foods Market chain for $13.7 billion.
