Prime spot: Amazon's Jeff Bezos briefly becomes richest man in the world

Amazon founder and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos in Washington on Jan. 28, 2016. (J. Scott Applewhite / AP)

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos briefly snagged the crown of “richest person in the world” on Thursday from Bill Gates, in Forbes’ realtime rankings of the wealthiest billionaires on the planet.

Bezos’ net worth spiked to US$90.5 billion Thursday morning, putting him just ahead of the Microsoft founder’s $90-billion fortune. Bezos’ fortune has surged in the past four months, amid a 24 per cent increase in Amazon stocks. Bezos holds a 17 per cent share in the tech firm, which has been expanding into cloud computing, artificial intelligence, online video and grocery sales. Bezos also owns the space firm Blue Origin, as well as the Washington Post.

Bill Gates regained his list-topping spot on Thursday afternoon, regaining the “richest person in the world” title that he’s held in 18 of the past 22 annual rankings.

Gates’ net worth was listed at $89.8 billion on Thursday afternoon, with Bezos trailing at $89.2 billion and Spain’s Amacio Ortega in third, at $83.5 billion.

David Thomson, chairman of Thomson Reuters, is the wealthiest Canadian and No. 29 on Forbes’ worldwide list. He boasts a fortune of approximately $27.7 billion.