
Jeff Bezos' wealth tops 105B dollars, now officially the richest man in history - Lordarminius
https://www.geekwire.com/2018/jeff-bezos-net-worth-tops-105-billion-amazon-founder-declared-richest-person-history/
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arcanus
It seems unlikely he is actually the richest. Historically many individuals
have amassed pretty fabulous amounts of wealth. From some of the history I
have read, Marcus Licinius Crassus or Lorenzo de' Medici seem to have had
substantially more purchasing power, at least relative to the times they lived
in.

For example, I do not see Bezos building anything I would compare to
cathedrals.

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turndown
>For example, I do not see Bezos building anything I would compare to
cathedrals

No, I'd say the majority of the things the wealthy build now are less self-
aggrandizing and more useful.

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nielsbot
Here's a chart if anyone wants a graphical version:
[https://www.dropbox.com/s/cw6vs4v4h4woxpt/richest.png?dl=0](https://www.dropbox.com/s/cw6vs4v4h4woxpt/richest.png?dl=0)

(Not sure what's standard practice for sharing images on HN.. or is that not
done?)

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XR0CSWV3h3kZWg
Wikipedia disagrees with many of those estimates.

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nielsbot
They're taken from this clickbaity thing:
[https://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/entertainment-
art...](https://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/entertainment-
articles/25-richest-people-lived-inflation-adjusted/)

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spikefromspace
Only if you don't take inflation into account.

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myaso
What about the Saudi King?

It's interesting to see how much Amazon can keep going. Bezos seems like the
kind of person who can delegate responsibility extremely effectively -- is
there a limit to this or will Amazon start being hobbled by it's own weight.

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Lordarminius
I'd wager Amazon could keep growing for a long while. The worldwide market for
e-commerce is nowhere near saturation point and the business model is by
definition a recurring one. In addition, there are many adjacent markets to
conquer.

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myaso
But on e-commerce you have large regional players already. Japan, Korea?,
India?, China, and probably Indonesia too. I find it hard to believe that
Amazon will be able to conquer all or any of these. Saturation in what way?
Total amount of goods purchased online increasing gradually over the years? As
for for adjacent markets, ok fair enough -- but will they win in everything
they try? I don't really think so -- and the more they take on the more Amazon
as a whole will be strained.

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hkmurakami
Who leads Japan? Rakuten? They were first movers but Amazon has made huge
share gains there in the last 10 years and they're in the common vernacular
now. They outmaneuvered the publisher coalition and are now the only real e
reader player in town. If there's a factor blocking Amazon from dominance
there, it's the continued strength of brick and mortar powered by the high
standard of service and support provided by those stores as well as strong
infrastructure that prevents Amazon from developing competitive advantages
with.

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myaso
Yes I was referring to Rakuten -- there are a few more minor players. I'm
working off limited data here -- so forgive me for using heuristic estimates.
But yes, what are the odds of overcoming that advantage in your opinion? Japan
is a odd case and _extremely_ difficult to penetrate for outsiders, that level
of insulation doesn't weight the odds in Amazon's favor or anybody else's
coming in from the outside.

