Jeff Bezos tops Forbes world’s richest list with US$120 billion fortune as Trump’s wealth falls

Amazon chief Jeff Bezos is now the world’s richest person, having snatched the top spot from Microsoft founder Bill Gates who slips to second place, according to Forbes Magazine’s annual billionaires list published on Tuesday.

Thanks to a 59 per cent rise in Amazon shares over the past 12 months, Bezos almost doubled his fortune, taking it to US$120 billion, way ahead of Gates’s US$90 billion – the biggest gap ever between the number one and two spots, Forbes said.

US President Donald Trump’s ranking on the list fell to 766th place from 544th in the last edition, his wealth now being estimated at US$3.1 billion, US$400 million less than a year ago.

Legendary investor Warren Buffett held on to his number three ranking, followed by French industrialist Bernard Arnault, who jumped to fourth-richest person from his previous number 11 spot, mostly thanks to euro strength against the dollar, the magazine said.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg was fifth on the list.