Who said it does not pay to be an entrepreneur? Though the journey may be rough, but with God, it will end in praise. Just don’t stop doing the good job! According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Jeff Bezos’ net worth was $99 billion on New Year’s Day 2018. One week later, Bezos hit the $105 billion mark, making the Amazon founder and CEO richer than Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had ever been, at least in nominal terms.
As of the close of the stock market on Friday, Bezos’ net worth hit the $109 billion mark, according to Forbes. In other words, Bezos has made $10 billion so far in 2018—and we’re not even two weeks into the year.
Bezos’ wealth is based mostly on his ownership of Amazon stock. And Amazon shares have climbed steeply in 2018, adding a mind-blowing $1 billion per day to Bezos’ net worth this week alone. On Friday, Amazon stock rose by more than 2%, topping $1,305 per share. That’s up from around $1,170 at the start of 2018.
For a little perspective, Bloomberg estimated Thursday that Bezos’ net worth (then a mere $108 billion) was the equivalent of 0.577% of GDP for the entire United States. It was also 1.8 million times higher than the median household income in the U.S.
Another way to look at Bezos’ staggering rise in wealth: The $10 billion Bezos has made in less than two weeks is more than three times Forbes’ estimate for the total net worth of President Donald Trump (roughly $3 billion), who himself is richer than every other U.S. president combined.
The world’s wealthiest people became $1 trillion richer in 2017, and no one made more money than Bezos. The Amazon founder made an estimated $35 billion last year, surpassing Bill Gates as the world’s richest person along the way.
Based on the blazing pace at which Bezos’ net worth has increased in 2018, that $35 billion he gained in 2017 may one day seem like peanuts.