Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' net worth rose $67 billion this year — or $8 million per hour

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

published 4 September 2018

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is a very, very rich man.

How rich? So rich that his net worth has risen by $67 billion this year alone, bringing the grand total of his immense fortune to $167 billion, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. Bezos' deep pockets surpassed all of his billionaire peers earlier this year, when he became the richest person in modern history.

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That means Bezos could buy an $8 million private island off the coast of Maine every hour without making a dent in his historic net worth. It means he could buy an entire Nevada town every hour and still be the richest man on Earth by far. Bezos could scoop up Oprah Winfrey's Orcas Island estate 24 times a day with his pocket change. The Amazon founder could buy the most valuable Tyrannosaurus rex fossil ever discovered with his hourly gains, and his wallet would never know the difference.

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Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.

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