This is an opinion.
- Jeff Bezos is closer to being worth $200 billion more than ever.
- Two Wall Street firms upgraded Amazon’s stock on Monday.
- The e-commerce behemoth has added over half a trillion dollars to its market cap this year.
Jeff Bezos is now just $11 billion short of being worth $200 billion. On Monday, the Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) CEO’s wealth increased by $13 billion. He is now worth $189 billion.
This was the most significant increase in net worth in a single day for an individual featured on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Putting Jeff Bezos’ wealth into perspective
Between Bezos and Bill Gates–the world’s second-richest person–the gap is over $70 billion. Bezos’ wealth nearly doubles the world’s third-richest person–Frenchman Bernard Arnault.
According to Worldometers, only 52 countries have a GDP higher than Bezos’ net worth. His value is higher than the GDP of 157 countries.
It has been a good year for Jeff Bezos
Bezos’ net worth, which is mainly tied to his Amazon stake, has risen by over $70 billion this year.
Amazon has benefited immensely from the pandemic, as more people turned to online shopping.
So far this year, Amazon’s stock has surged over 70%. The e-commerce behemoth has even outperformed the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index. The Nasdaq is up nearly 20% year-to-date.
Amazon has added $561 billion to its market cap this year and is now worth close to $1.6 trillion.
On Monday, Amazon’s stock rose 7.9% to $3,196.84.
What caused the rise in Amazon stock?
Amazon’s latest surge came after Goldman Sachs and Jefferies both raised Amazon’s stock price target to $3,800. From the current levels, this presents an upside potential of close to 20%.
The consensus rating for the stock is currently a ‘buy.’
Amazon reports its second-quarter earnings later this week. The continuing growth of e-commerce is expected to boost revenues and profits.
For its previous quarter, Amazon has projected annual sales to increase between 18% and 22%.
What’s the Downside?
The downside for Amazon is that the pandemic has brought its challenges too. For instance, Amazon has had to postpone its annual shopping event. Amazon Prime Day, which is usually held in mid-July, has been put off for later in the year.
In 2019, Prime Day was the biggest shopping event in its history. Amazon doesn’t report dollar revenues for the event, but over 175 million items were sold in just a single day.
The online retail giant has additionally come under criticism for its treatment of workers during the pandemic. It remains to be seen whether these complaints will impact the company moving forward.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com and should not be considered investment or trading advice from CCN.com. The author holds no investment position in the above-mentioned companies.