- Chief Executive Eric Yuan of Zoom Video Communications Inc, got $4.2bn richer in just a few hours.
Chief Executive Eric Yuan of Zoom Video Communications Inc, got $4.2bn richer in just a few hours.
His virtual-meeting firm’s shares soared to as much as 26 percent to $410 in late U.S. trading as it posted a quarterly sales leap and indicated exponential growth would continue. If the stock were to retain the gain on Tuesday, the fortune of the Yuan would reach $20 billion.
It’s been a year full of eye-popping rallies for the richest names in the tech world — Jeff Bezos from Amazon.com Inc. saw his net worth rise by $13 billion in a single day in July, and Elon Musk from Tesla Inc. added $8 billion in 24 hours last month. Both men have hit record wealth levels, with Bezos reaching $200 billion last week and Musk going over $100 billion.
Zoom was one of the clearest winners of the coronavirus pandemic, with corporations and educational institutions turning to the app for remote work and teaching.
The video conference app announced on Monday that revenues soared 355 percent to $663.5 million over the three months through July 31 — the second-largest increase among Nasdaq 100 Index members last quarter, just behind the biotech company Moderna Inc., data compiled by Bloomberg show. Zoom said revenues in the fiscal year ending in January would amount to as much as $2.39 billion, meaning revenue will almost quadruple in just one year.
One of the biggest gainers this year is the founder of the San Jose, California-based firm, whose net worth is largely made up of its more than 50 million Zoom shares. Yuan, 50, was $12.8 billion richer at the close of Monday as the stock nearly quintupled.
Li Ka-shing and Samuel Chen, early Zoom holders, are also getting a wealth boost from the rally. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, assuming both men still hold the stock, Li could add $2 billion in one day and Chen more than $650 million should Zoom share hit $410 at the next close.
