Jeff Bezos, Richest Man Alive, Is About to Become Even Richer

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Jeff Bezos is poised to overtake Jeff Bezos as the richest man in the world.

The Amazon founder and CEO, whose estimated net worth of $157 billion already makes him the world’s wealthiest person, is expected to rake in millions when Uber goes public next week, CBS News reported.

The ride-hailing app is predicted to be valued at more than $80 billion, with the initial public offering anticipating prices between $44 and $55 per share.

Bezos was one of Uber’s early investors. According to CBS, the 55-year-old tech entrepreneur invested both personally and through Benchmark, a venture capital firm that’s also attracted attention for early-stage funding of other successful tech companies like Dropbox, Twitter and Snapchat.

Bezos made a personal investment of $3 million in Uber for a stake that is now worth an estimated $400 million, according to The Information. Meanwhile, Benchmark stands to rake in approximately $7.9 billion on its initial $30 million investment.

Travis Kalanick, Uber’s co-founder and former CEO, will also take home a significant chunk of change from Uber’s IPO. He is expected to earn more than any other individual shareholder, raking in an anticipated $9 billion from his 8.6 percent stake. Other major shareholders include co-founder Garrett Camp, who owns 6 percent of the company, and board member Arianna Huffington, who holds 22,000 shares and is credited with helping to rehabilitate Uber following Kalanick’s departure in 2017.

Matt Cohler, representative of Benchmark’s 11 percent sale by name, is officially listed as Uber’s largest individual shareholder, while Softbank is the largest shareholder overall, with 222,228,000 shares, or 16.3 percent of Uber.

Bezos’ wealth has been the subject of major media scrutiny this year in the aftermath of his divorce from Mackenzie Bezos, who is now among the wealthiest women in the world. The majority of the tech giant’s wealth is tied to his 12 percent stake in Amazon, which is valued at $108 billion.