Jeff Bezos was the first person Forbes reported as having a fortune of at least $100 billion.
Amazon’s soaring share price pushed Bezos’ estimated wealth above the $100 billion threshold in November 2017. He had already become the world’s richest person earlier that year, overtaking Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Forbes’ real-time wealth measurements.
The milestone reflected Bezos’ ownership of Amazon shares, not cash held in a bank account. Because Amazon’s market value changed continually, his estimated fortune could rise or fall by billions in a single trading session.
This milestone is distinct from later records involving $200 billion fortunes. Bezos became the first person to pass $100 billion under Forbes’ tracking, while Elon Musk later became the first to reach $200 billion. Wealth-list thresholds therefore depend on both company valuations and the precise date of measurement.