Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is no stranger to breaking records and making headlines. He is one of the most influential and powerful people in the world, thanks to his vast fortune and his ambitious ventures in e-commerce, space, and media. But how much does he really make, and can he keep his spot as the third-richest person on the planet?
According to data from Finbold, Jeff Bezos had a net worth of $190.7 billion as of February 19, 2024, based on his stakes in Amazon, Blue Origin, and The Washington Post. His main source of wealth is Amazon, the online retail giant that dominates the global market and raked in a whopping $270.046 billion in gross profit in 2023. Bezos owns 11.5% of Amazon, which means he pocketed about $31.06 billion from the company’s profits last year. That’s equivalent to $985 per second, $59,100 per minute, $3,546,000 per hour, $85,104,000 per day, and $595,728,000 per week. Not bad for someone who started selling books from his garage.
But Bezos is not content with just being the king of e-commerce. He also has a passion for space exploration and owns Blue Origin, a private aerospace company that aims to make space travel accessible and affordable for everyone. Bezos has invested billions of dollars in developing reusable rockets, lunar landers, and orbital habitats. He even flew to space himself last year, along with his brother and two other passengers, in a historic suborbital flight. Bezos hopes to eventually colonize the solar system and create a better future for humanity.
Bezos is also a media mogul, owning The Washington Post, one of the most respected and influential newspapers in the world. He bought the paper in 2013 for $250 million and has since transformed it into a digital powerhouse, with millions of subscribers and readers. Bezos has given the paper editorial independence and financial support, allowing it to produce high-quality journalism and hold the powerful accountable.
Bezos is undoubtedly a visionary and a leader, who has changed the world with his innovations and ideas. He has also amassed a staggering amount of wealth, making him one of the richest people in history. But he is not without competition, especially from another tech titan: Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta Platforms, formerly known as Facebook.
Zuckerberg is the fourth-richest person in the world, with a net worth of $166.1 billion as of February 19, 2024, according to Forbes. He is the founder and chief of Meta, the social media giant that owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Oculus. Meta has more than 3 billion monthly active users across its platforms, making it the largest and most influential online community in the world. Meta also generates billions of dollars in revenue from advertising, e-commerce, and virtual reality.
Zuckerberg is not satisfied with just connecting people online. He also has a grand vision of building the metaverse, a virtual environment where people can interact, work, play, and create using immersive technologies. Zuckerberg believes that the metaverse will be the next frontier of the internet, and he is investing heavily in developing it. He has rebranded his company as Meta, to reflect its focus on the metaverse, and has pledged to spend at least $10 billion this year on developing the technology and content for it.
Zuckerberg is also a philanthropist, who has pledged to give away 99% of his Meta shares to charitable causes during his lifetime. He and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have founded the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a philanthropic organization that supports various causes, such as education, health, science, and justice. Zuckerberg has also donated billions of dollars to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, promote vaccine equity, and support democracy.
Zuckerberg is undoubtedly a pioneer and a philanthropist, who has created a global phenomenon with his platforms and products. He has also accumulated a tremendous amount of wealth, making him one of the youngest and most successful billionaires ever. But he is not without challenges, especially from regulators, lawmakers, and critics, who accuse him of abusing his power, violating privacy, spreading misinformation, and harming society.
Bezos and Zuckerberg are both extraordinary and controversial figures, who have shaped the world with their visions and actions. They are also fierce rivals, who compete for market share, talent, and influence. They are both on track to become even richer and more powerful in the near future, but they also face many obstacles and uncertainties. Who will win the billionaire rivalry? Only time will tell.
