You know what they say, another day another dollar. Well, make that $13 billion if you’re Jeff Bezos. You heard me...$13 billion.
According to Bloomberg, Bezos’ riches soared on Monday, after Amazon.com Inc. shares rose 7.9 percent, the company’s largest single-day increase since December 2018. This resulted in Bezos having the largest single-day jump for an individual’s net worth since the Bloomberg Billionaires Index was created in 2012.
Bezos, who is already the richest person in the world, has seen an increase in his net worth from $74 billion to $189.3 billion in 2020. This is happening as everyday Americans are struggling to pay rent, afford healthcare, and are losing their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the country experiences the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, it’s important to remember that Amazon paid little to no federal taxes for the past several years.
While people are forced to rely on services like Amazon in order to stay home, Bloomberg points out that other tech lords are reaping the benefits of our national crisis. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly added $15 billion to his fortune in 2020 so far.
Numbers like these aren’t inspiring or funny, but instead, depressing. It’s depressing that Americans are being kicked out of their homes and struggling to find work while people like Bezos and Zuckerberg line their pockets, all while putting their workers at risk or spreading misinformation about the upcoming election.
