Bezos a $100 billion man as Amazon rises on cyber shopping

Forbes magazine’s real-time ranking of the richest people had Bezos on top, with a personal net worth of $100.3 billion. AFP PHOTO / FILES / JOE KLAMAR

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was a $100-billion man on Monday as the online retail colossus raked in cash from the holiday weekend’s cyber shopping spree.

Forbes magazine’s real-time ranking of the richest people had Bezos on top, with a personal net worth of $100.3 billion.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates saw his net worth climb to a dizzying $89.4 billion but was relegated to being the second most affluent person on the planet.

Bezos owns almost 17 percent of Amazon, which he founded in a Seattle garage in 1994 after quitting a hedge fund job to sell books online.

Amazon shares finished the official trading day up just shy of a percent, and inched up a bit more in after-market trades to top $1,200.

Based on the share price, Seattle-based Amazon had a market value of some $576.3 billion.

Market tracker Adobe Digital Insights data showed that online shopping was at a record-setting pace from Black Friday into Cyber Monday. KI

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