Amazon.com's Founder, Jeff Bezos becomes the Richest Person With US$150 Billion Net Worth

Jeff Bezos is the richest person in modern history.  The Amazon.com Inc. founder’s net worth cracked $150 billion in New York on Monday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That’s about $55 billion more than Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, the world’s second-richest person.

Bezos, 54, also has topped Gates in inflation-adjusted terms. The $100 billion mark that Gates hit briefly in 1999 at the height of the dot-com boom would be worth about $149 billion in today’s dollars. That makes the Amazon chief executive officer richer than anyone else on earth since at least 1982, when Forbes published its inaugural wealth ranking.

Bezos crossed the threshold as Amazon was preparing to kick off its 36-hour summer sales event, Prime Day, which got off to a rocky start as glitches struck the firm’s website and mobile app.

Nigeria Air Starts Soon --- Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika

Aviation minister Hadi Sirika revealed the news in a press conference at the biennial Farnborough Airshow, which is held southwest of London and where billions of dollars of aerospace deals are traditionally announced.

"I am pleased to tell you that we are finally on track to launching a new national flag carrier for our country: Nigeria Air," Sirika announced.

The government "has a moral and social responsibility to create a new national carrier", he told reporters, adding that there was "a huge need in demand".

"The business case for this... has been completed and we are now in the phase of the procurement" of aircraft.

And in a tweet, he added: "We've been talking to Airbus and Boeing ... regarding the aircraft for #NigeriaAir, and we will be making announcements very soon. We are currently negotiating."

Nigeria Air will be a Public and Private Partnership that will, however, be managed fully by the private sector.

The government will not own more than five percent of the group, which will be run on a commercial basis.

The national carrier will have domestic, regional and global operations, while the government is now seeking a strategic partner to invest in, develop and operate it.

Some 1,500 flying routes were considered and 81 have now been selected.

Sirika added that the airline would allow the nation to tap into the potential of its growing middle class in a population of more than 180 million people.

"Nigeria is a very responsible aviation nation ... and so we know the game," he noted.

The new carrier, whose tagline is 'Bringing Nigeria closer to the world', aims to launch its first services in December 2018.

The Nigerian air traffic market of more than 15 million passengers is forecast to grow at five percent per year through to 2036, according to the government.

Five Simple Tests of Integrity

“We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open”  

(2 Corinthians 4:2 The Message).

Integrity demands that every area of your life is treated with the same intensity. You have the same commitment to excellence in your marriage as you do in your career. You have the same commitment to excellence in ministry as you do in your parenting.

Let me give you five ways you can work this week to pursue integrity. You become a person of integrity by . . .

1. Keeping your promises.

People of integrity keep their word. If they say they’ll do it, they do it. If they say they’ll be there, they show up. The Bible says in Proverbs 25:14, “People who promise things that they never give are like clouds and wind that bring no rain” (GNT).

2. Paying your bills.

You may not think this is a big deal, but it’s a big deal to God. Do you spend more money than you make? That is a lack of integrity. Do you get yourself in debt for things that you can’t pay off? That is a lack of integrity. Psalm 37:21 says, “The wicked borrow and never pay back” (GNT).

3. Refusing to gossip.

God is looking for men and women of integrity who know how to keep a secret and not pass it around on social media. Don’t talk about people behind their back. Don’t even listen to gossip! “A . . . gossip can’t be trusted with a secret, but someone of integrity won’t violate a confidence” (Proverbs 11:13 The Message). 

    4.   Doing your best at work.

The Bible says in Colossians 3:23, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” (NLT). If you’re a believer, your real boss is God, and whether or not anybody else sees your work, God does.

   5.    Being real with others.

A person of integrity doesn’t act one way in church and another way at work and another way on the golf course. “We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open” (2 Corinthians 4:2 The Message)

Inspired by Rick Warren