Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, experienced a significant drop in his wealth by over $21 billion after Amazon.com Inc. announced plans to invest heavily in artificial intelligence, raising concerns among investors about short-term profitability.
On Friday, Amazon’s shares fell by as much as 13%, reducing Bezos’ net worth to $185.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This loss is the second largest he has faced, following a $36 billion decrease in April 2019 due to his divorce settlement.
Amazon’s Financial Report and Market Reactions
Amazon recently reported second-quarter revenue that fell short of analysts’ expectations. While its cloud computing business showed strength, the e-commerce sector faced challenges. CEO Andy Jassy is focusing on cost-cutting measures to allocate resources for AI investments. However, investors are concerned that these expenditures could impact the company’s profitability.
Investor apprehension extends beyond Amazon, with worries that AI-driven gains might be overstated and the market is overly concentrated. Disappointing earnings reports and uncertainty about potential Federal Reserve rate cuts have contributed to a downturn in the Nasdaq 100 Index, which has lost more than $2 trillion in value over the past three weeks.
Despite recent declines, companies like Nvidia Corp. and Tesla Inc. are still up for the year, though both have dropped over 20% from recent highs. Technology billionaires collectively lost $68 billion from their fortunes, as reported by Bloomberg’s wealth index.
Bezos’ Stock Sales and Wealth Sources
At 60 years old, Bezos is the world’s second-richest person and has been selling Amazon shares throughout the year. In February, he sold stocks worth approximately $8.5 billion over nine trading days. He also announced plans to sell 25 million additional shares, valued at $5 billion, when Amazon hit a new record last month. These sales will total around $13.5 billion this year, leaving him with nearly 912 million shares, or about 8.8% of Amazon, after the sales are completed.
Besides his Amazon holdings, Bezos’ wealth includes interests in the space exploration company Blue Origin and the Washington Post newspaper.
As the market continues to react to tech industry developments, Bezos and other tech leaders are navigating the complexities of balancing innovation with investor expectations.
