Here’s Why Jeff Bezos Is Not Truly The Richest Person In History

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Amazon, the global e-commerce behemoth, has brought incomparable scale to online retailing. In turn, it has brought incomparable wealth to its founder, Jeff Bezos.

As of Monday’s market close, Bezos was worth more than $104 billion, making him the world’s richest person—at least when not factoring in inflation—since Forbes began tracking global wealth 30 years ago. In two years, his net worth has risen over $50 billion, more than the gross domestic product of Iceland, Belize or Monaco over the same period.

Yet Bezos is not truly the wealthiest person ever, despite numerous reports to the contrary. As just one example, on an inflation-adjusted basis, Bill Gates has previously been worth far more. In April 1999, for instance, Gates’ net worth eclipsed $100 billion for the first time when Microsoft shares topped out at the apex of the dot-com bubble. That fortune would be worth roughly $150 billion in today’s dollars.

Gates, who is now worth an estimated $92 billion, would also be far richer if he had not given about $36 billion of Microsoft stock to charity over time, mostly to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the planet’s largest private philanthropic foundation.

Bezos’ fortune is nonetheless staggering, and he may well top the list of The World’s Billionaires for the first time when Forbes unveils the 2018 ranking in March. Unless Amazon’s share price unexpectedly collapses, he will have the highest-ever net worth of anyone to appear on the ranks, and by a wide margin.

For context, here are the top members of Forbes‘ list of The World’s Billionaires in each of the last twenty years. Also included are their net worths adjusted for inflation through November 2017, based on the most recent data available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

2017

Name: Bill Gates

Net worth: $86 billion

Net worth adjusted for inflation: $87 billion

2016

Name: Bill Gates

Net worth: $75 billion

Adjusted for inflation: $77.7 billion

2015

Name: Bill Gates

Net worth: $79.2 billion

Adjusted for inflation: $82.7 billion

2014

Name: Bill Gates

Net worth: $76 billion

Adjusted for inflation: $79.3 billion

2013

Name: Carlos Slim Helú

Net worth: $73 billion

Adjusted for inflation: $77.4 billion

2012

Name: Carlos Slim Helú

Net worth: $69 billion

Adjusted for inflation: $74.2 billion

2011

Name: Carlos Slim Helú

Net worth: $74 billion

Adjusted for inflation: $81.7 billion

2010

Name: Carlos Slim Helú

Net worth: $53.5 billion

Adjusted for inflation: $60.6 billion

2009

Name: Bill Gates

Net worth: $40 billion

Adjusted for inflation: $46.4 billion

2008

Name: Warren Buffett

Net worth: $62 billion

Adjusted for inflation: $71.6 billion

2007

Name: Bill Gates

Net worth: $56 billion

Adjusted for inflation: $67.3 billion

2006

Name: Bill Gates

Net worth: $50 billion

Adjusted for inflation: $61.7 billion

2005

Name: Bill Gates

Net worth: $50 billion

Adjusted for inflation: $63.8 billion

2004

Name: Bill Gates

Net worth: $46 billion

Adjusted for inflation: $60.6 billion

2003

Name: Bill Gates

Net worth: $40.7 billion

Adjusted for inflation: $54.5 billion

2002

Name: Bill Gates

Net worth: $52.8 billion

Adjusted for inflation: $72.8 billion

2001

Name: Bill Gates

Net worth: $58.7 billion

Adjusted for inflation: $82.2 billion

2000

Name: Bill Gates

Net worth: $60 billion

Adjusted for inflation: $86.5 billion

1999

Name: Bill Gates

Net worth: $90 billion

Adjusted for inflation: $134.6 billion

1998

Name: Bill Gates

Net worth: $51 billion

Adjusted for inflation: $77.6 billion

 

Source: Forbes