Topline
Jeff Bezos’ net worth fell by nearly $16 billion Friday, as Amazon’s stock was on track for its worst day in over two years, following a disappointing jobs report fueling a larger market selloff that accelerated an ongoing rout for Big Tech stocks.
The Amazon founder remains the world’s second-richest person.
Key Facts
Amazon shares fell over 9% to under $167 as of around 3:30 p.m., after reporting $147.9 billion in second-quarter revenue on Thursday, falling short of analyst projections of $148.5 billion.
This puts the stock on pace for its worst day since April 28, 2022, when Amazon’s shares fell by 14% after reporting earnings that fell nearly $1 per share below expectations, according to FactSet.
The value of Bezos’ stake in Amazon, totaling 928 million shares, dropped from $170.8 billion when trading closed on Thursday to about $154.9 billion.
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Forbes Valuation
Bezos is the second-richest person in the world with a net worth of $186.2 billion, following a decline of nearly 8% on Friday, according to our latest estimates. All 10 of the richest people in the world lost at least $1 billion, including Tesla’s Elon Musk ($5.2 billion), LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault ($3.1 billion) and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg ($3.3 billion).
Key Background
Stocks fell sharply on Friday after a report from the Labor Department indicated the U.S. economy added about 71,000 fewer jobs last month than expected, increasing concerns of a looming recession. Brian Olsavsky, Amazon’s chief financial officer, said during the company’s earnings call that Amazon was betting heavily on its cloud business, which is projected to generate more than $105 billion annually. Amazon has spent over $30 billion to meet the growing needs for Amazon Web Services, including demand for generative AI tools, Olsavsky said. Those investments are expected to increase through the second half of the year, he noted. Amazon reached a $2 trillion market capitalization for the first time last month amid a broader tech rally from AI, which has since sharply reversed course as concerns grow about whether the massive Big Tech investments in AI lately will pay off.
Further Reading
Exxon acquiring Pioneer for nearly $60 billion, a mysterious respiratory illness affecting dogs across the U.S. and the challenges against transgender health care. Before joining Forbes, he covered the Black Mountain, North Carolina community for the Asheville Citizen Times. Ty earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Auburn University and his master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. Email him at troush@forbes.com.
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