Jeff Bezos has overtaken Warren Buffett as the world’s third richest man after his firm Amazon reported better than expected results.
Bezos’ fortune stood at $65.3bn (£49.6bn) as of 9.30pm UK time on Thursday, after the US markets closed for the day.
Forbes said that now puts him ahead of Buffett’s wealth of $64.9bn (£49.3bn).
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates remains the world’s richest person, at $77.7bn (£59.1bn), while Spain’s Amancio Ortega, who founded the Zara clothing group, was second at $72.7bn (£55.3bn).
Facebook’s co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was fifth, at $54bn (£41bn).
Bezos, 52, owns nearly 18% of Amazon.
The company has in recent years expanded beyond its core business of internet retail sales with the launch of web services and entertainment.
Amazon said its net sales rose 31.1% to $30.40bn (£23.1bn) in the second quarter, giving it earnings of $857m (£651m), reports Sky News.
It forecast sales of between $31.0bn and $33.5bn in the current quarter, compared to Wall Street’s expectations of $31.6bn.
Amazon shares were up 2% in after-hours trading.
Another internet giant to impress the markets was Alphabet, the parent company of Google, which reported second quarter profits up 43% from last year to $4.9bn (£3.7bn).
Revenue jumped 21% to $21.5bn (£16.3bn), the California tech firm said, prompting the price of its shares to rise.
Buffett, 85, owns nearly 18% of Berkshire Hathaway Inc, but his drop to fourth place in the world’s richest came after he donated $2.86bn (£2.17bn) of Berkshire stock to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities.
He has donated more than $24.3bn (£18.5bn) to the Gates Foundation and family charities since 2006.
