Amazon’s Bezos just below Apple’s Jobs in Wealth Creation

Amazon’s earnings and stock price have surged this year, so it’s no surprise that Jeff Bezos, ceo of Amazon, was fifth in CEO magazine’s list of top wealth creators. Other local companies on the list include Expedia in 13th place, Expeditors International in 32nd place, Boeing in 71st place and Microsoft in 73rd place.

Apple ceo Steve Jobs came in fourth place thanks to a more than 50 percent increase in the value of its stock. Priceline, a company with one fourth the market cap of Amazon, came in first place with a more than 80 percent increase in valuation.

Amazon has been a big beneficiary of the surge this Christmas in online spending. The company said that on its peak day, November 29th, it sold 13.7 million items worldwide. Its success with its Kindle and its web services business have also been big contributors to its profit growth. The company said its third-generation Kindle, which sells for as low as $139, is now the bestselling product in Amazon’s history.

A major reason for Amazon’s strength is its continued ability to improve services to its customers while also cuttting costs.

The Washington Post reports today, however, that the company may introduce a new approach to efficiency that could anger some people. The company has patented a system that would avoid the heavy cost of gift returns at the end of the year by essentially allowing people to send back gifts before they’ve even received them. A person might, for example, tell the system to automatically return any gift from “Aunt Mildred” because of her record of making poor gift choices.

There could be some backlash to this cynical efficiency from traditionalists who fear that it could undermine what is left of the spirit of gift giving.