Jeff Bezos to splurge $600 million on wedding — he lost a chunk of his fortune to his first wife

After reports suggesting the second richest person in the world was planning a $600 million wedding surfaces, things got heated. With the story spreading like wildfire, Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, had to come out and bash the rumours. In a thread on X (Twitter), Bezos clarified that "This whole thing is completely false. – none of this is happening." His response even got a cheer from Elon Musk who encouraged him to hold an epic wedding in the future, nevertheless.

Bezos boasts an impressive net worth of $248 billion as of December 26, according to Bloomberg. This remarkable wealth is primarily attributed to his founding of Amazon.com, where he served as the CEO and currently holds the position of President and Chairman of the Board. His net worth has witnessed substantial growth, and he briefly held the title of the world's richest person from October 2017 to January 2021. He officially founded the company in 1994, setting up the original business in his garage. His career commenced at financial firms like Fitel and Bankers Trust before joining D.E. Shaw & Co., where he became the company's fourth senior vice president.

Jeff Bezos has acquired his substantial wealth through various sources, primarily driven by his significant holdings in Amazon. He possesses 55 million Amazon shares, which equates to around 12% of the company's total shares. At the peak of his ownership, he held 80 million Amazon shares; however, he transferred 19.7 million shares to his ex-wife, MacKenzie Bezos, as part of their divorce settlement in April 2019. Jeff also expanded his wealth through early investments in Google, now part of Alphabet Inc., where he owns at least $1 billion worth of shares. Additionally, his Amazon shares have been a consistent source of income, with a history of selling around $1 billion worth of shares annually to fund his space venture, Blue Origin.

Jeff Bezos, despite his astronomical wealth, doesn't draw a hefty salary from Amazon. In 2020, his annual salary from the tech giant was a modest $81,840, reflecting middle-income earnings in his home state of California. Bezos chose not to receive bonuses, stocks, or options that year. Instead, a significant portion of his income, approximately $1,600,000, was categorized under "other compensation."

However, the bulk of his net worth is rooted in Amazon's stock performance. With a 10.3% ownership of Amazon shares, Bezos' financial fortunes are intimately tied to the company's success. His earnings are so staggering that he makes roughly $3,715 per second, a figure dwarfing the median full-time weekly wage of most Americans, which stands at $984 per week. Furthermore, Bezos earned 58 times more from Amazon compensation alone than the median wage for Amazon workers in 2020, underscoring the vast income gap within the company.