Jeff Bezos loses $21 billion in Amazon shares market plunge

Amazon's billionaire founder Jeff Bezos has lost billions in stock market rout. Photo / AP

Jeff Bezos has had more than $21 billion ($NZ32.5b) wiped off his net worth after Amazon's shares suffered their biggest fall since 2014.

The online retail behemoth fell by more than 13 per cent on Friday as investors reacted to the company posting its weakest growth in two decades and warning of a further slowdown.

The drop knocked more than $178b off Amazon's value as shares fell to their lowest level for almost two years.

Bezos, Amazon's founder and executive chairman, has a 9.8 per cent stake in the company, that makes him the world's second richest man after Elon Musk.

Friday's fall means he has now lost about $40b this year, leaving him with a fortune of $152b.

Amazon shares have been hit by falling confidence in tech stocks and a slowdown in online shopping as consumers emerge from the pandemic.

Amazon said on Thursday night revenues had climbed by just 7 per cent in the first three months of the year, its most sluggish growth since October 2001.

The company also recorded its first quarterly loss since 2015 as it took a multibillion-dollar writedown on its stake in Rivian, the electric car company.

Profitability was also hit by rising inflation in wages, fuel prices and shipping costs.

Bezos' stake in Amazon makes up the vast majority of his net worth. His stake in space company Blue Origin and other investments make up the remainder.

Investors reacted most strongly to Amazon's forecast that revenues would climb by between 3 per cent and 7 per cent in the coming quarter, a further slowdown.

Bezos has put billions of his personal wealth into Blue Origin in an attempt to rival Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Musk surpassed Bezos as the world's richest man last year as his electric car company Tesla soared to a $1 trillion valuation.

Bezos has also pledged to put billions into a fund to work on projects battling climate change.