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Jeff Bezos net worth: Who is Amazon boss and how did he become the world's richest man?

Billionaire: Amazon founder and richest man on the planet Jeff Bezos: AP
Billionaire: Amazon founder and richest man on the planet Jeff Bezos: AP

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, 54, has been named the richest man in modern history by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

But how much do we really know about the man who started one of the world's biggest companies?

How much is Jeff Bezos worth?

The Amazon boss was worth $150 billion (£113 billion) in July 2018, making him the richest man on earth since at least 1982 when Forbes first began their billionaire list.

How did he make his money?

Bezos founded Amazon in 1994 when it began as an online bookshop before selling a variety of different products.

At the end of 2015, the e-commerce company announced 304 million active member accounts.

In 2018, Amazon's stock soared by 60% and had a market value of more than $890 billion.

Bezos is the largest shareholder with a 16% stake in the company. He also personally owns the Washington Post and Blue Origin, a space exploration company.

Who is his wife, Mackenzie Bezos?

Novelist Mackenzie Bezos married Jeff in 1993 before quitting their jobs and relocating to Seattle to found Amazon.

Mackenzie, 48, was one of the first Amazon employees.

Jeff has said of his wife: "I think my wife is resourceful, smart, brainy and hot, but I had the good fortune of having seen her résumé before I met her, so I knew exactly what her SATs were.

The couple have four children and are the 25th largest landowners in the US.

Who else is on the Forbes billionaire list?

Slipping to second place is Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who last hit the $100 billion mark in 1982.

Also in the top five is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg in at number 5 with a fortune of $71 billion and CEO of Louis Vuitton Bernard Arnault at number 4 with a fortune of $72 billion.