Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos now worth more than US$100 billion after Black Friday buying binge

Amazon.com founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos saw his net worth climb above US$100 billion on Friday as shares in his online retail giant surged on optimism over holiday sales.

Bezos’ ascent is the first time anyone has crossed the US$100 billion threshold since Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates earned it in 1999, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire’s Index, which follows the real-time net worth of the world’s 500 wealthiest people.

Amazon shares were up 2.5 per cent to US$1,186 at Friday’s 1pm market close. Stock exchanges closed early on Friday because of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Amazon shares are up more than 58 per cent this year, boosting Bezos’s wealth.

Amazon’s upward arc followed Friday’s broad market push that saw the S&P 500 Stock Market Index reach another record at 2,602, the first time it has closed above 2,600. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 32 points to 23,557.99, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed higher at 6,889.

Markets are approaching the end of 2017 fuelled by robust earnings, a rare harmony among growing world economies and bullishness over possible US tax reform.