Amazon boss earns more than 1 billion USD in one night

Jeff Bezos has surpassed investment legend Warren Buffett with a total fortune of 65.3 billion USD, an increase of 1.3 billion USD yesterday thanks to the increase in Amazon stock price.

During the trading session on July 28, Bezos's assets reached 66.5 billion USD. He replaced Buffett as the third richest person in the world, according to Forbes.

Bezos owns 18% of Amazon. Shares of the e-commerce giant rose 2% yesterday after revenue last quarter exceeded expectations, rising 31% year-over-year to $30.4 billion. Profit was $857 million, up from $92 million in 2015.

Amazon is famous for reporting little or no profit each quarter, but the turnaround came last year, when the company's profits continued to improve.

Jeff Bezos currently has a fortune of 65.3 billion USD. Photo: Forbes

Its stock has risen 50% since February. Its Prime service, which offers free shipping and a host of other services for an annual subscription, has been growing impressively internationally. Amazon launched the service in India in June, tapping into the country’s large consumer market.

Amazon is also luring Prime subscribers by offering a video streaming service that competes with Netflix. Prime Day, its annual online shopping festival held earlier this month, also saw record sales.

Although Amazon does not release official figures, Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimates the number of Prime users in the US at around 63 million. On average, each person spends around $1,200 per year.

The company’s cloud computing business also saw strong growth. Amazon Web Services (AWS) revenue rose 58% to $2.89 billion, beating analysts’ forecasts of $2.83 billion.

They’ve also expanded their business, opening an online grocery store in the UK. Earlier this month, they announced a partnership with Wells Fargo, offering discounted student loans to Prime Student members.

According to VNE