Frederik Paulsen, a Swedish pharmaceutical titan and pole explorer said in jest at Explorers Club gala
For nearly two decades, Bezos was adamant that the company should largely stay out of the political limelight and not make a stir in local communities. It also had a bare-bones lobbying operation
The latest jump has pushed Bezos's fortune definitively above the high reached by Microsoft Corp.'s Bill Gates in 1999
The Forbes estimated Bezos' wealth at about $90.6 bn, compared to $90 bn for Gates
He is one of the eight people who own the same wealth as the remainder of world population combined
His appeal came one day ahead of Amazon's announcement it would buy US grocer Whole Foods Market
Bezos still owns 79.9 mn shares, or about 17% of the company, down from 83 mn shares at end of 2015
Amazon CEO is selling the retail giant's stock every year to finance his Blue Origin rocket company
Bezos has a net worth of $75.6 billion on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index
Bezos reported fortune of $65.3 billion on Thursday against Buffetts' wealth of $64.9 billion, Forbes magazine said
Takes total investment to $5 bn; Murdoch's Star, American Tower Company, Emerson too make big ticket commitments
The company's CEO announced an additional $3 billion investment, taking the total investment up to $5 billion
Bezos said, "With Kay Graham as my role model, I'm very willing to let any of my body parts go through a big, fat wringer, if need be."