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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' net worth tops $150B as he becomes richest person in modern history

This net worth makes him richer than anyone else since at least 1982.
This file 2016 photo shows Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos during the inauguration of the Washington Post Headquarters in Washington, DC. (Photo: Mandel Ngan, AFP/Getty Images)

Jeff Bezos has now become the richest person in modern history – his net worth now tops Bill Gates' past inflation-adjusted peak.

The founder of Amazon.com, already the world's richest person, saw his net worth hit $150 billion for the first time Monday, which is about $55 billion more than the $95.5 billion that the Microsoft co-founder is currently worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

In 1999, Gates’ total net worth briefly hit the $100 billion mark, which would be worth about $149 billion today in inflation-adjusted terms, according to Bloomberg.

That makes Bezos richer than anyone else since at least 1982, when Forbes published its inaugural wealth ranking, Bloomberg reports.

Bezos topped the $150 billion milestone on the same day that the giant online retailer kicked off Amazon Prime Day, its annual global shopping sales event.

Shares of Amazon.com have risen for nine straight days, hitting new highs, and gained 1.4% to $1,847.62 Tuesday.

The stock has soared more than 55% this year, which has added more than $50 billion to Bezos’ net worth in less than seven months.

Rounding out the current top five richest people behind Bezos and Gates: Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett ($83 billion), Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg ($83 billion) and Amancio Ortega ($75 billion), founder of retailing group Inditex.

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