Amazon’s Jeff Bezos is the world’s richest man[/caption]
Amazon, formed 25 years ago, has eclipsed Microsoft to become the world’s most valuable listed company.
The online giant was worth $797bn (£634bn) when the US stock market closed on Monday after rising 3.4% and moved past Microsoft, valued at $789bn. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is the world’s wealthiest man, with riches of $135bn, according to Bloomberg’s billionaire index. He overtook Microsoft founder Bill Gates last year. It is the first time Amazon has held the top position. The share prices of US tech giants have been on a rollercoaster in recent months on worries about sales and trade tensions.First book
Founded by Mr Bezos in 1994, Amazon started life as a niche second-hand book seller and has become an online retailer of items ranging from fresh food to clothes. The firm was created in a garage in a suburb of Seattle, Washington. It was originally called “Cadabra,” (as in “abracadabra”) and in 1995 sold its first book – Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought, by Douglas Hofstadter.
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For more than a decade, the company put growth ahead of profit, investing in warehouses, distribution networks and data systems. In 2017, it paid $13.7bn for Whole Foods Market, which brought it a large network of physical stores for the first time. It has also emerged as a major creator of original entertainment content, producing original drama series.