Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos just became the richest man in the world (again) after its share price jumped

Jess Bezos has become the richest man in the world after Amazon shares shot up more than 10 per cent, taking them well past the $1,000 mark.

It is the second time this year that Bezos has overtaken Bill Gates as the richest man in the world, briefly knocking him off the top spot back in July.

This comes after Amazon shares hit $1,057 as the markets opened today following last night’s impressive third-quarter earnings report.

That pushed its market cap up to $516.26bn, adding $7bn to Bezos’ fortune, according to CNBC.

Amazon’s third quarter results showed sales rose 34 per cent on last year, reaching $43.7bn in the third quarter, compared with $32.7bn in 2016. This overtook estimates of $41.3bn.

These results recognise Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods for $13.7bn in August, that lead to a $1.3bn surge in sales for the company.

Amazon is steering for strong sales going forward, but a seemingly random approach to investments mean that earnings in the fourth-quarter could still easily fall.

Alphabet was another winner following last night’s reports: shares shot up by 6.4 per cent to $1,027.75 as the market opened. They continued to climb, peaking at $1,063.62.

Profits at the internet giant, which is best known as Google’s parent company, rose $1.12bn and net revenue climbed 22 per cent to $22.3bn compared to the $22.1bn predicted.