This archive report was first published on 17 November 2019.
On November 17, 2019, Bill Gates regained his position as the world's richest person, surpassing Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos with a net worth of $110 billion, as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
This marks the first time Gates has held the top spot in over two years, having briefly topped Bezos in October 2019 after Amazon reported a significant decline in profit.
Microsoft shares have seen a significant surge of nearly 48% this year, contributing to Gates' net worth increase. The company's recent win of a $10 billion cloud-computing contract with the Pentagon has also added to the drama surrounding the wealth race between Gates and Bezos.
Bezos, who has been through a divorce and paid out a substantial portion of his Amazon stake, now sits at second with a net worth of $108.7 billion.
In response to a proposed wealth tax, Gates stated that he has already paid over $10 billion in taxes and would be willing to pay up to $20 billion more. However, he noted that paying $100 billion would prompt him to reassess his remaining wealth.
