Jeff Bezos is $3.3 billion richer as Amazon’s stock soared to a historic high on Thursday, marking its first peak since July 2021 and signaling a remarkable resurgence from its slump in 2022.
The e-commerce giant’s shares rose by up to 2% on Thursday, reaching an Intraday height of nearly $190 per share. This rally coincided with a broader uptick in the tech sector, with the Nasdaq Composite climbing by 1.6%.
Bezos, the company’s Executive Chairman and largest individual shareholder has witnessed a substantial increase in his net worth. According to Forbes estimates, Bezos’ fortune swelled by $3.3 billion on Thursday alone, further solidifying his position as the second-richest individual globally and the wealthiest American, with a net worth exceeding $90 billion more than it was just a year ago.
What you should know
The upswing was further fueled by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s annual letter to shareholders, released earlier in the day. Jassy touted Amazon Web Services (AWS)’s potential in spearheading the generative AI revolution, showing investor confidence in the company’s prospects. Currently, Amazon stands on the brink of achieving a major milestone— a $2 trillion market capitalization, a substantial leap from its valuation of under $900 billion at the end of 2022.
Amazon’s stellar performance in 2024, with a 26% surge in its stock value, surpasses gains observed in all three major stock indexes.
This turnaround can be attributed to the growing impact of artificial intelligence (AI), with reports showing that AWS, heavily anchored in AI technologies, will be a key driver of Amazon’s growth trajectory. The stock’s resurgence comes after a stormy period, during which it fell by as much as 60% between mid-2021 and the end of 2022, coinciding with Jassy’s ascension to the CEO role following Jeff Bezos’ retirement.