For the first time since 2013, the world has a new richest person. Thanks to a rise in the value of Amazon stock, the company’s founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, has taken the top spot on Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index from Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
(We wanted to know, too: Michael Bloomberg, soda-hating former mayor of New York City and founder of his eponymous company, is not on its Billionaires Index.)
Gates, of course, has been busy giving away his fortune through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. What put Bezos over the top today, though, was a sudden boost in Amazon’s stock value in advance of the company’s quarterly earnings report later today.
How ubiquitous is Amazon becoming? The company’s Prime service, which eliminates shipping fees for most of the items it sells and photo storage, among other services, is on its way to becoming a more popular service than basic cable.
Deciding to subscribe to Prime changes a household’s buying decisions permanently.
“Anyone who joins Prime shops in retail stores 10% less, and that number will keep accelerating as Amazon adds more inventory,” an analyst at Wedbush Securities told Bloomberg News.
More inventory? Yes, there are a few things you can’t yet buy on Amazon, but the company is now expanding into furniture and major appliances, including installation.
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist
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