Boss Jeff Bezos briefly overtook Bill Gates as the world's richest person on Thursday following a surge in the online retailer's shares ahead of its earnings report, before the stock fell back again.

The e-commerce magnate, who was the fourth richest person at the beginning of the year, overtook Microsoft co-founder Gates earlier in the day after Amazon shares rose 1.8pc to $1,071 (£820).

However, shares later dropped back, closing down 0.7pc at $1,046, meaning the 53-year-old Bezos has not yet replaced Gates as number one on the Forbes Billionaire's list. Bezos is now worth $88.5bn.

The share price move came hours before Amazon posted quarterly earnings in which it said profit had fallen 77pc on a year earlier. This was due to it ramping up investment spend on video content and international expansion.

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos was briefly the richest man in the world on Thursday credit: EPA

Gates, who is worth $89.7bn, has been the wealthiest person in the world since May 2013. The philanthropic billionaire has given away $31.1bn of his wealth to charitable causes. Bezos has donated just $100m, according to Forbes.

Bezos has been close behind Gates for a number of weeks, with a net worth of $89.3bn ahead of Thursday's surge. His wealth has ballooned by an extra $24.4bn in 2017 as Amazon, in which he holds a 17pct stake, has surged almost 40pc.

Bezos has leapfrogged the $82.7bn Amancio Ortega, Inditex SA founder, and $74.5bn Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway.

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The billionaire technology entrepreneur founded Amazon in 1994 as a book store in his Seattle garage. Amazon is now one of the top 50 biggest companies in the world with a remit that includes online shopping, original television series and on-demand delivery.

The success of Amazon Prime, the £79-per-year subscription service, has contributed to the company's rapid growth this year, as has the popularity of the Echo speaker.

Bezos's portfolio also includes the Washington Post and spaceflight company Blue Origin. He holds a stake in rival Google, having been one of the first backers of the search company, as well as Airbnb and Uber.