Jeff Bezos's wealth soars to record $171.6 billion: Billionaires Index

Jeff Bezos’s net worth has smashed through its previous peak, even after he relinquished a quarter of his stake in Amazon as part of a divorce settlement last year.

Shares of the retailer surged 4.4 per cent to a record $2,878.70, boosting the founder’s world-leading fortune to $171.6 billion. That tops his previous high of $167.7 billion, set on September 4, 2018, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

His gains — $56.7 billion this year alone — underscore a widening wealth gap in the US during the worst economic downturn since 2008.