On the morning of Thursday, July 27th, Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos became the richest man on earth when the market opened. Amazon stocks rose by 1.6%, adding another $1.4 billion to Jeff Bezos’ net worth and making him the richest man on earth, passing Bill Gates in net worth. Bill Gates has been the world’s wealthiest man for a couple of decades, surpassed only for two days by Spanish retail giant Amancio Ortega. It happened again when Jeff Bezos’ net worth rose to $90.9, exceeding Gates’ worth at $90.8 billion, says Bloomberg.
Unfortunately, being at the top lasted only for a few hours for Bezos, and as soon as Amazon announced its second quarter earnings, the company’s stocks dropped. By the evening of the same day, the stock had dipped by 3% that brought Bezos down from $90.9 billion to $89.9 billion.
The peak in Amazon’s stocks on Thursday morning was the highest in company’s history, which came down as soon as Amazon reported net income of $197 million, which was a dip of 77% from its first quarter earnings of $857 million. The cause of this reducing profits is Amazon’s investments in its own business, and that doesn’t seem to have worked out very well for the company.
For the current quarter of the year, Amazon has projected a probable operating revenue loss, nearly $400 million, or a potential gain of $300 million, according to Reuters. The income estimates were initially made at $900, but the actual profits fell much shorter.
Ever since the beginning of this year, Amazon’s shares have risen by 40%, which includes the growth accredited to the $13.7 billion Whole Foods bid. The steep fall in the second quarter earnings indicates that the company’s profits won’t be multiplying at the same rate anymore.
While Bezos did not stay at the top for long, the changes that the company is bringing to retail, logistics, and robotics is getting it an excellent control over consumers’ buying habits. Bezos might just reach the top again sometime soon!