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Businesses The Almighty Buck Technology

Jeff Bezos Becomes the Richest Man In Modern History, Topping $150 Billion (bloomberg.com) 228

Posted by BeauHD from the inconceivable-riches dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: Jeff Bezos is the richest person in modern history. The Amazon founder's net worth broke $150 billion in New York on Monday morning, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That's about $55 billion more than Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, the world's second-richest person. Bezos, 54, has now topped Gates in inflation-adjusted terms. The $100 billion mark that Gates hit briefly in 1999 at the height of the dot-com boom would be worth about $149 billion in today's dollars. That makes the Amazon chief executive officer richer than anyone else on earth since at least 1982, when Forbes published its inaugural wealth ranking. Bezos crossed the threshold just as Amazon prepares to kick off its 36-hour summer sales event, Prime Day. The company's share price was $1,825.73 at 11:10 a.m. in New York, extending its 2018 gain to 56 percent and giving Bezos a $150.8 billion fortune. A little more than a week ago, Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg overtook Warren Buffett to become the world's third-richest person.
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Jeff Bezos Becomes the Richest Man In Modern History, Topping $150 Billion More

Jeff Bezos Becomes the Richest Man In Modern History, Topping $150 Billion

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  • Too much? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward

    When is enough money enough money? I ponder...

    • Re:Too much? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Monday July 16, 2018 @04:30PM (#56959094)

      When is enough money enough money? I ponder...

      If you're pondering this, you're wasting your time. The disease of Obscene Greed has proven to be limitless, and we'll soon be counting the world's trillionaires.

      • Re:Too much? (Score:5, Informative)

        by lgw ( 121541 ) on Monday July 16, 2018 @06:20PM (#56959728) Journal

        The disease of Obscene Greed has proven to be limitless

        According to the required federal reporting on CEo compensation, Bezos was paid $80k in 2017 (previously he had been making the Amazon salary cap of $176k). He refused the boards offer of additional stock. I'm pretty sure that's not what limitless greed looks like.

        His wealth is all from stock he got when Amazon went public, that he's still holding on to. Seems reasonable to me that someone who starts a company in his garage and eventually takes it public gets some chunk of stock when that happens. Is he somehow evil because the company was quite successful in the years that followed?

        • Quadrillionare Qunitillionare (Score:5, Interesting)

          by TiggertheMad ( 556308 ) on Monday July 16, 2018 @07:03PM (#56959958) Journal
          Well stated.More over he does not have 150 billon to play with. Being that he wants to maintain (rigid) control over his company, he cannot sell most of his stock without risking losing that power. Further, that valuation is all just paper.Until he liquidates his position, his valuation will go up and down and follow the stock price. If Amazon stock tanks tomorrow, he is going to be quite a bit less rich. Finally, if / when he sells, dumping that much stock will lower the price, so he is going to have to take a long time to sell off, or accept that he isn't going to get 'full value' for his options. He could probably tank the price by himself just by putting all his stock on the market all at once.

          That doesn't mean that he still isn't a rich bitch, though.Given that he has a strong track record in building companies, he could probably get a couple of hundred billion loaned to him by banks with his stock as collateral.If he wanted a 'Trump style' paper empire, he could buy many, many big companies with leveraged collateral, and pay back the interest with profits.He could become the worlds first trillionaire if he stopped fucking around with Amazon, and really pursued the goal.

          Of course, who cares? At a certain point, its just numbers in a computer. He'll still be dead of cancer or a bad ticker in 50 years, and he cannot drink any more beer that you or I can in a single day. I kinda feel bad for him. He cannot go anywhere without an armed security escort. He will always have a huge number of people who dislike him, for no other reason than he has stupid piles of cash. In a way, hes trapped by his own success.

          • Re:Quadrillionare Qunitillionare (Score:5, Funny)

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16, 2018 @07:22PM (#56960030)

            "he cannot drink any more beer that you or I can in a single day"

            I'm going to have to disagree with that.

            I bumped into Jeff on a night out in Bangkok. The cunt was already wasted. After a discussion of the merits of Prime Day, we started doing Jagermeisters, one after another, after another. The fucker Would. Not. Go. Down.

            I got the barkeep to open up some absinthe, in a desperate bid to slow the guy down, but he was like an elephant. He was downing those flaming shots of absinthe quick as a cheetah on crack.

            He turned around with a big shit-eating grin on his face, and said the words I would never forget :"Your turn, motherfucker"

            I took one shot of absinthe, and projectile vomited all over a nearby ladyboy, who proceeded to kick the shit out of me.

            Although this is only anecdotal evidence, it is my opinion that Jeff Bezos CAN drink more beer than you or I - far more.

          • how does he afford these [google.com]? Hud housing? I make $80k/yr and I'm stuck in an apartment until my kid graduates from college.

            It's not just numbers in a computer. Money is _power_. He's literally got the power to reshape society and bend it to his whims. People with that kind of money use it to make other people do what they're told. And if you don't fall in line they buy off a group of thugs to make sure you do, or else.

            • how does he afford these [google.com]? Hud housing? I make $80k/yr and I'm stuck in an apartment until my kid graduates from college.

              You're either intentionally or unintentionally misreading the GP's post. The GP never said Bezos was poor, just that he doesn't have $150bn to play with unless he gives up his life's work, and that is wealth is tied to the company which he built.

              People with that kind of money use it to make other people do what they're told. And if you don't fall in line they buy off a group of thugs to make sure you do, or else.

              No. People with any kind of power use it to make other people do what they are told. I use that power at work. Some 15 year old in a decrepet neighbourhood who happens to own a gun uses that power too. Being rich doesn't make people malevolent. Being told by someone

              • It was the GP that made the point that Bezos only makes $80k a year. I submit to you that the GP is the one pushing a narrative that Bezos is a humble working man who leaves the bulk of his fortune to the people. My point is that is a false narrative meant to distract from the enormous money grab him and others like him are doing.

                • Re: (Score:2)

                  by lgw ( 121541 )

                  Do you even understand the distinction between income and wealth? Amazon pay Bezos a token salary. He has vast wealth. But for "limitless greed", there is no "enough", otherwise you have limited greed. The fact that Bezos chooses not to get paid much by Amazon is solid proof that his greed is not, in fact, limitless. QED.

          • More over he does not have 150 billon to play with. Being that he wants to maintain (rigid) control over his company, he cannot sell most of his stock without risking losing that power. Further, that valuation is all just paper.

            Just as a reminder, even if he liquidates, and literally walks around with billion dollar bills in his pocket, that's all just paper. If it's in some bank account, it's just a number. If he buys a bunch of gold bars that's just some metal.

            These things have value, all of them, from the stock to the cash to the gold, because other people will trade you stuff for them. That's it.

            dumping that much stock will lower the price, so he is going to have to take a long time to sell off, or accept that he isn't going to get 'full value' for his options. He could probably tank the price by himself just by putting all his stock on the market all at once.

            Oh there are ways around that. If it does it all at once, then he's literally sold high BEFORE the resulting crash. But that's a

        • Re:Too much? (Score:4, Insightful)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Monday July 16, 2018 @07:43PM (#56960096) Homepage Journal

          Yes. Not because of the stock, because he built Amazon by abusing his employees with shit conditions and wages.

          And if you thought the Microsoft tax was bad, check out the Amazon marketplace tax.

        • Comment removed based on user account deletion

        • Re:Too much? (Score:4, Interesting)

          by geekmux ( 1040042 ) on Monday July 16, 2018 @09:37PM (#56960564)

          ...Seems reasonable to me that someone who starts a company in his garage and eventually takes it public gets some chunk of stock when that happens. Is he somehow evil because the company was quite successful in the years that followed?

          I never said he was evil. I haven't worked for him. I merely said he is afflicted with the same disease that many others are afflicted with. Could he find someone qualified to run his business? Certainly. Will he? No, because he's also a Control freak. Even with thousands of employees, he doesn't trust any of them at the helm.

          Most people define success as growing a business large enough to the point where they can just enjoy life while work is delegated, not become imprisoned by their own creation. That's just sad, and is exactly what I'm talking about when I define Greed as a disease.

          • You need to split the contexts. Bezos isn't *financially* imprisoned by his own creation. Does that mean he wouldn't pull all stops to hold onto it, continue running it, and fight off attempts at others controlling it?

            You fail to realise that many people actually really enjoy what they do. Work keeps people busy. You see that often with retirees falling into depression. My neighbour was a postal worker for his life and retired with a nice pension, great success right? He's out of the "prison". ... two weeks

          • Do other founders/CEOs really delegate work and "enjoy life"? Many seem to also be control freaks who enjoy being at the helm of their respective companies

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by lgw ( 121541 )

            He's certainly a control freak - apparently the Fire Phone was his pet project, and Amazon made a phone that only he wanted.

            But that has nothing to do with greed. Holding on to some stock you got nearly 20 years ago because you don't feel then need to sell it to buy stuff isn't really greed. Turning down compensation certainly isn't greed.

            Like most people who become successful CEOs, his Conscientiousness personality trait is way the Hell out there in the thin in of the bell curve. Greedy people take the

        • At Jeff's level the scam is very simple. He's allowed to borrow money from banks at negative interest rates (well, below the rate he could just loan it back out for anyway). This is how the top 1% avoid paying taxes. They've taken control of the banking system and use it to hide the enormous amounts of wealthy they've claimed on the backs of you and me.

          Jeff built his fortune on the backs of guys like this [youtube.com]. Amazon's enormous worth is predicated on the assumption by the investors that he's going to do wha

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by pnutjam ( 523990 )
        We need to put up a "high score" board in DC, it will be pegged to how much you pay in estate taxes, although we could probably do one for income taxes.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by OrangeTide ( 124937 )

      That's right. he should give all his money to every man, woman, and child in the US. Cut us a one time check for $460, and it will surely change our lives.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward

        That's right. he should give all his money to every man, woman, and child in the US. Cut us a one time check for $460, and it will surely change our lives.

        Actually for quite a few people, it would.

        That's a few months of food for a family. That's a couple of months student loan payments. It's a medical bill or a co-pay. It's a dentist visit.

        It's money to escape from one's dreary meaningless job and life of toil.

        How many jets, yachts, houses, or real estate does he really need?

        We need to understand something, gains from capital do NOT require "hard work". Capital breeds like cockroaches. This delusional myth that "if you work hard then you will be successfu

    • He doesn't actually have that money. His stock is WORTH that much, if you valued it at today's price. If he started to sell any appreciable amount of his stock, the price would plummet. It's an "on paper" value only.

  • Cue post-outage schadenfreude.

  • Telling Seattle to GFY paid off handsomely (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 16, 2018 @04:34PM (#56959126)

    With a few more years of stagnant employee wages and no corporate tax we can get him to $200 billion in no time.

    Interesting how when he makes $150 billion, it's because he deserves it. When i make $150,000 it's because IT salaries are too high and we need more visas.

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • "When i make $150,000 it's because IT salaries are too high and we need more visas."

      I can't tell if you're American or Australian from that comment, but either way, I sympathise.

  • $50000 (Score:3, Funny)

    by 110010001000 ( 697113 ) on Monday July 16, 2018 @04:36PM (#56959138) Homepage Journal
    I thought my $50,000 I make working in IT in Silicon Valley was a lot. I can't even imagine $150,000,000,000!

  • Is he still driving his Honda Accord? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by grungeman ( 590547 ) on Monday July 16, 2018 @04:40PM (#56959180)
    I do not know too much about Jeff Bezos, but this scene from 1999, where he explains why he is driving a Honda Accord despite being a billionaire, may explain why he is not just your average billionaire, but the richest man on earth.

    https://youtu.be/3VUGj34jTqY?t... [youtu.be]

    Vote me down, but somehow I think he is a great guy.
    • >> Vote me down, but somehow I think he is a great guy.

      Unlike Elon Musk, who can stick his submarine where the sun don't shine.

      Now call me a pedo if you wish.

      • Great, now you've given him an idea about a submarines company.

        Unless that's part of his five-fold plan...
        - Tesla for land.
        - SpaceX for space.
        - Boring for underground.
        - ? for underwater.
        - ? for oceans.

    • You are kidding right? The guy owns multiple garages of supercars.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      I do not know too much about Jeff Bezos, but this scene from 1999, where he explains why he is driving a Honda Accord...

      (Bezos) "This is a perfectly good car."

      Uh, common sense isn't exclusive to obscenely rich people.

      ...despite being a billionaire, may explain why he is not just your average billionaire, but the richest man on earth.

      He got rich because he had a decent idea and got lucky. Despite intelligence or great ideas, most people don't realize just how much timing and pure luck has to do with great success. Had he tried to launch his company in 2001 after the dot-bomb hit, he may have gone down with many other digital ships.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gosand ( 234100 )

      I don't get it. Do you think that Honda Accord keeps him humble? All he said that is that it is a perfectly good car. Maybe he doesn't give two shits about what kind of car he drives. He also said at the end of that clip that he wakes up every morning petrified and afraid [of the enemies of Amazon], and he tells his employees the same thing. To me, that might make sense when you are up-and-coming, but now he's the 800 lb gorilla. I would suspect that he is still that way because he didn't get to where

  • All this money (Score:5, Insightful)

    by DaMattster ( 977781 ) on Monday July 16, 2018 @04:48PM (#56959240)
    And he still pays his warehouse workers a shit wage. He's a fucking asshole.

    • And he still pays his warehouse workers a shit wage. He's a fucking asshole.

      Do you understand that his wealth and Amazon's cash flow are totally unrelated? I suppose he could give them some stock, but he's not worth $150B because he received large paychecks.

    • And he still pays his warehouse workers [very low]

      One can argue that stinginess (frugality) got him where he is today. Perhaps there's a Drake's Equation equivalent for mega-billionaires where the non-frugal are usually weeded out.

      Warren Buffett is often known for frugality/stinginess also. When he purchased a newspaper in a two-paper town, a competitive well-publicized "paper war" gained steam*. After about a decade, the other paper folded, leaving Buffett a monopoly. The main reporters and editors thought

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

        While perhaps technically true, it's a slap to the face of the main content creators. In my opinion, such is poor for morale and could hurt profitability. They busted their butts trying to win a well-publicized market battle, finally won, and got NONE of the spoils of war; the General saying victory was "inevitable".

        Well, they got to keep their jobs. If they were the #2 paper, they'd be walking the unemployment line. So they "win" in a way.

        But yes, you don't get rich by spending your money, so being complet

      • And that is why Buffet wins - he knows what his investors (the people who actually created his wealth, via demand for his service and insight) want: profit. They want to give him money and have him turn it into even more money, and let him take a small commission for that action. It's called investing - and he's really good at it. Bezos does the same thing, but with his own company.
    • UPS, Walmart, Krogers, Home Depot - all pay warehouse workers around $12-$18 per hour. Guess what - that's about what that kind of job is worth. If you do a really menial labor job that is not too physically demanding, and requires no real skills, don't expect to make lots of money. You could always learn to say "you want fries with that?" and try to earn an extra buck - but that's about it.

  • We deserve some rest.

  • The thing is I have no problem with him being this rich. However, I do have a problem with how he is using his money to buy influence. The guy knows a lot about business and tech and almost nothing about pretty much anything else. The problem is he went and bought the Washington Post [archive.org] and has since turned it into one of the most biased and unjournalistic newspapers in existence. People get confused because they know the brand but since 2013, Bezos has run this paper into the ground and used it as the propag

  • ... would make an average person economically independent.

    However, I doubt that he'd notice it at all. Maybe not even making 100 people rich.

  • It must be Bash Amazon Day

  • worth $150 Billion and he's got employees like this [youtube.com]...

  • With personal assets estimated to be around 200 billion US Dollars.

    http://fortune.com/2017/07/29/... [fortune.com]

    https://www.independent.co.uk/... [independent.co.uk]

  • According to various estimates Mr. Putin's worth is over USD 200 billion, so that makes him the richest person on Earth. Unlike Mr. Bezos however Putin has made his money by stealing it from Russians and as a result he's made the country poor, backward and uncompetitive but he couldn't care less.

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