Jeff Bezos' divorce costs him title as 'Richest Person In The World'

Jeff Bezos had the world's biggest divorce settlement after he split from his wife of 25 years, MacKenzie Bezos.

However, the marriage breakdown has cost him more than money.

The Amazon billionaire has lost his title as "Richest Person In The World", according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Bezos, who this year paid out a significant portion of his Amazon stake in his divorce now sits in second place, with a net worth of $159.4 billion (US$108.7b).

Taking the top spot from Bezos is Bill Gates.

Gates surpassed the Amazon CEO to reclaim the distinction of richest person in the world, with a net worth of $161.3 billion (US$110b), according to the index.

It's the first time the co-founder of Microsoft has held the top spot in over two years.

He briefly topped Bezos last month after Amazon reported that its profit for the three months ending in September fell nearly 28 per cent from a year earlier.

But Gates' time at the top was short-lived.

He has regained the lead because Microsoft shares are up nearly 48 per cent this year, which helped boost the value of his stake in the company.

In October, Microsoft beat out Amazon for a $10 billion cloud-computing contract with the Pentagon, adding some additional drama to the Gates/Bezos wealth race.