Who Is The Richest Man In the World? Bill Gates vs. Jeff Bezos Go Head-To-Head In Wealth Showdown

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Friday became the richest man on the planet, with a net worth of $110 billion, beating out Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Gates has taken the lead as Microsoft shares shot up nearly 48% this year and the company edged out Amazon for the $10 billion JEDI contract with the Pentagon.

Gates has a 1% stake in Microsoft, and also makes his fortune from his Cascade Investment company.

Bezos' net worth is $108.7 billion. Earlier this year, Bezos had a $38 billion divorce settlement with his ex-wife Mackenzie, with his former spouse getting 25% of the couple's Amazon stock.

Part of the reason why Gates has not always been number one is due to his philantrophy. Gates has donated over $35 billion to his Bill & Melinda Gates charitable foundation since 1994, which works to help the developing world tackle the persistent issues of hunger and extreme poverty.

Bezos also has a charitable outlet, called the Bezos Day One Fund. The $2 billion fund focuses on "funding non-profits that help homeless families and creating a network of new, non-profit tier-one preschools in low-income communities."

The third-richest person in the world is French national Bernard Renault at $102.7 billion. Renault owns LVMH Moet Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE, which is the world's largest luxury goods company.