Bill Gates overtakes Jeff Bezos as the richest person in the world at $110 BILLION after Microsoft secures a $10 billion contract with the Pentagon and Amazon’s stocks drop
- Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has topped Amazon's Jeff Bezos as richest person in the world
- Gates has a total net worth of $110 billion, while Bezos has $109 billion as of Friday
- Gates gained the title briefly in October, but this is his first official reclamation in more than two years
- Microsoft shares are up almost 48 percent this year and the company signed a $10 billion contract with the Pentagon
- Bezos took a financial hit after his divorce from longtime spouse Mackenzie Bezos this year
Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has surpassed Amazon's Jeff Bezos as the world's richest person, reclaiming the distinction for the first time in more than two years.
As of Friday, the Bloomberg Billionaire Index reported the Gates' total net worth comes in at a staggering $110 billion.
Gates' was able to regain the title because Microsoft shares are up almost 48 percent this year and a recent gain of $485 million, helping bolster the tech company's value.
Microsoft's Bill Gates (left) has officially topped Amazon's Jeff Bezos (right) as the richest person in the world with a total net worth of $110 billion
Microsoft also beat out Amazon for a lucrative $10 billion cloud-computing contract with the Pentagon.
The contract -named Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI- includes Microsoft providing cloud storage of sensitive military data and technology for the Department of Defense over a 10 year period.
Awarding the contract to Microsoft was a huge loss for Amazon and marked another notch in the ongoing war between the two global tech giants.
Gates' (pictured) company Microsoft secured a $10 billion contract with the Pentagon in October, upsetting Amazon's attempt to confirm the deal
Gates briefly bested Bezos last month when Amazon reported that profits for the three months ending in September dropped almost 28 percent last year.
Bezos currently sits in second place with a total net worth of $109 billion, who at his maximum had a $166 billion in September 2018.
Amazon's stock is down 2 percent, according to Bloomberg, and Bezos lost 845 million.
The Amazon CEO recently took a cut to his finances after his divorce from ex-wife Mackenzie Bezos this year.
The settlement saw Mackenzie receive 25 percent of Bezos' stake in Amazon and became one of the company's biggest shareholders.
She is worth a reported $35 billion, but Mackenzie has publicly shared her plans to donate a sizable chunk to charities like the Giving Pledge.
In a letter, she wrote: 'I have a disproportionate amount of money to share. My approach to philanthropy will continue to be thoughtful. It will take time and effort and care. But I won’t wait. And I will keep at it until the safe is empty.'
Jeff Bezos (right) faced a substantial cut to his finances after separating from his wife Mackenzie Bezos (left) in 2019
Gates' has a similar philanthropic spirit and has given $35 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation since 1994.
Recently, Gates spoke about a proposed wealth tax being campaigned by some Democratic political candidates, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
He revealed he already paid more than $10 billion in taxes.
Gates said: 'If I’d had to pay $20 billion, it’s fine. When you say I should pay $100 billion, then I’m starting to do a little math about what I have left over.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7692679/Bill-Gates-overtakes-Jeff-Bezos-richest-person-world.html
2019-11-16 14:08:00Z
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