INTERNATIONAL – Jeff Bezos is still the world’s richest person, but he’s a lot closer to No. 2 Bill Gates than just a few months ago.
The Amazon.com founder lost $19.2 billion (R280 bn) over the past two trading days – the most ever in that time, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index – amid a global market selloff fueled by fears of further trade tensions. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg held the previous record, set in July, when the social-media giant reported revenue and user growth that missed estimates, lopping $16.5 billion from his fortune.
Technology stocks led Monday’s declines, with the Nasdaq Composite Index sliding to its lowest since April. Shares of Amazon tumbled 6.3 percent, on top of Friday’s 7.8 percent drop, leaving Bezos with $128.1 billion, down from a peak of $167.7 billion early last month.
The $8.2 billion hit he took Monday was the biggest by far on the Bloomberg ranking of the world’s 500 richest people. Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim’s $2.5 billion drop was the day’s second-largest. Gates, the Microsoft Corp. co-founder, lost $558.3 million and is now worth $92.8 billion.