How Much Did Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Cash In After The Midterm Elections?

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ net worth grew by almost $9 billion Wednesday, the day after the midterm election, due to a sharp gain in the company's stock.

Shares of Amazon (AMZN) gained about 7 percent on Wednesday, an uptick that boosted Bezos' net worth by $8.9 billion dollars. Since Bezos owns 16 percent of Amazon’s stock, he often experiences one-day windfalls and shortfalls.

The stock gain was a rebound for Bezos and Amazon shareholders. Shares of Amazon tumbled during a stretch in late October, costing Bezos $19 billion.

Shares of Amazon closed at $1,712.43 on Friday, which is below its record high of $2,033.19 in July. Prior to Wednesday, Amazon's share price had not been above $1,700 since Oct. 25.

Bezos is the second person to have a fortune of $100 billion dollars, after Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Bezos is currently the richest person in the world, ahead of Gates and famed investor Warren Buffett.

In July 2017, CNBC cited a report by Oxfam that found Bezos could actually become a trillionaire in the next 25 years.

Amazon is the clear leader in online retailing. The e-commerce giant had net sales of $177.87 billion in 2017.

President Donald Trump has openly discussed taking antitrust action against Amazon and criticized the company for not paying enough taxes. Without citing evidence, Trump in March stated on Twitter that package deliveries by the U.S. Postal Service "will lose $1.50 on average for each package it delivers for Amazon. That amounts to Billions of Dollars."