Jeff Bezos Loses $20 Billion as Amazon Shares Crash

• Amazon stock lost more than 12% in noon trading on Friday after the company reported dismal earnings

• The company reported its first quarterly loss since 2015, slowing sales growth

• Jeff Bezos who owns an 11% stake in Amazon saw his fortune plummet by $20 billion

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has seen his fortune plummet by $21 billion after the company’s stock crashed on Friday. Amazon shares crashed by 12.6% on Friday, to $2,527, after the company announced its first quarterly loss in 7 years. This has slowed growth sales in the retail giant for the first time in 21 years.

Bezos owns an 11.1% stake in the company and the majority of his fortune consists of Amazon stock. Therefore, he suffered huge losses on paper after the shares tanked. 

Amazon’s reported losses came mostly from a $7.6 billion in the value of its stock investment in Rivian Automotive. Meanwhile, its e-commerce business also reported an operating loss in North America.

At the close of markets on Thursday, Bezos was worth $169 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. After Friday’s market crash, the billionaire’s fortune was down to $148 billion. In 2022 alone, the Amazon chairman’s fortune has declined by $43.5 billion.

Read also: Elon Musk Sold Tesla Stocks to Fund $44 Billion Twitter Acquisition

Despite a bad start to the year, Bezos remains the second richest man in the world, behind only Tesla chief, Elon Musk. The world’s richest person has an estimated net worth of $249 billion. Also, since Bezos’s recorded losses are on paper only, his fortune could rebound when the value of Amazon’s stock rises.

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