Amazon’s Jeff Bezos becomes first $100B mogul on Forbes list

SAN FRANCISCO – Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has become the first person to amass a fortune surpassing $100 billion in Forbes magazine’s annual ranking of the world’s moguls.

The milestone announced Tuesday underscores the growing clout of Bezos and the company he founded in 1994 as an online bookstore.

These days, Amazon sells almost everything imaginable online. It’s now trying help people manage their lives with its digital assistant Alexa, which is implanted in its Echo line of internet-connected speakers.

Forbes estimates Bezos’ wealth at $112 billion as of Feb. 9, up from about $73 billion last year, thanks to Amazon’s surging stock price.

President Donald Trump didn’t fare as well financially during his first year in office. Forbes says his fortune fell by about $400 million to $3.1 billion.