The uptick Amazon shares registered on Wall Street, on Oct 27, has directly affected the fortune of its founder, Jeff Bezos, who immediately replaced Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates as the richest person in the world.
Two hours after the stock market opened on Oct 27, Amazon shares were up 11.9 per cent, on the first day since it announced its third quarter results at the close of trading on Oct 26.
Microsoft shares had climbed close to 7 per cent at the same time, also as a result of its third quarter earnings announced on Oct 26 at Wall Street's closing bell.
But according to Forbes magazine, which closely follows the world's greatest personal fortunes, taking into account, among other aspects, the value of their stock market assets, Bezos surpassed Gates on Oct 27 as the richest person in the world.
According to Forbes, the fortune of Amazon's founder reached some $90.6 billion, compared with the $90.1 billion that the online edition of the magazine attributes to Gates.
This is not the first time that Bezos has outpaced Gates - it previously happened last July 27 when Amazon shares hit a historic high, though Gates took back the lead hours later.
Jeff Bezos has been on the Forbes list of the richest billionaires since 1998, a year after his e-commerce giant went public.
