Jeff Bezos to be first trillionaire by 2026?

NEW DELHI: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, already the world's richest with a net worth of $143 billion, could become the first trillionaire on the planet in just 6 years.

Social media was abuzz with the trillionaire talk following research by Comparisun, an advice platform for small businesses, that showed that Bezos, now aged 56, would become a trillionaire (with $1,000 billion) by 2026 when he is 62 years old.

Comparisun reportedly analysed market caps of NYSE's most valued firms as well as the top 25 richest people according to Forbes. Incidentally, Chinese real estate tycoon Xu Jiayin is second on the list, while India's own Mukesh Ambani fifth.

The research platform based its projection on the average percentage of annual expansion recorded over five years and then extrapolating it to future years.

Bezos does have a potentially growing business on hand, especially since the demand for home deliveries has spiked with the onset of the pandemic and resulting lockdowns. Amazon recorded sales of over $75 billion in January-March, up from $60 billion in the year-ago period. Demand is expected to remain high due to warnings of a second wave of the virus and more lockdowns. Even before the current global crisis, Amazon had reported a revenue of $281 billion in 2019.

The founder of the world's biggest online retailer saw his total fortune grow year-to-date by nearly 25%, or over $28 billion, to the current figure of $143 billion, according to Bloomberg's Billionaire Index. Comparisun said Bezos' net worth ballooned by an average of 34% over five years.

But news of the 'trillionaire' projection evoked strong feelings on Twitter. Some users expressed their anger at Bezos possibly gaining from the pandemic when millions are losing their livelihoods, and some even lives.