California is on fire, again. A hurricane is approaching the gulf. 2020 is one giant dumpster fire after another, and among all the loss and destruction, one man seems to be profiting off of all of it. That man is none other than our Iguana-eating pal Jeff Bezos.
According to multiple reports, Bezos is now the first person in the world to have a net worth of $200 billion. The Amazon CEO was already the richest person in the world, but has seen a net increase to $200 billion from $74 billion during the span of 2020.
Meanwhile, the USPS is being dismantled and Americans are struggling to pay rent, afford healthcare, and find new jobs because of the ongoing 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.
The bump in Bezos’ net worth comes after Amazon’s stock traded at $3,406.84, increasing 1.8 percent or up $60.35 a share on Wednesday, according to the New York Post. Bezos now has $77 billion more than Bill Gates, whose net worth is just over $123 billion.
If all of these numbers are meaningless to you, then you’re not alone. It’s hard for any regular person to imagine just how much $1 billion is, let alone $200 billion. To put this in perspective, researchers once said it would take just $20 billion to end homelessness within the US.
Bezos would be even richer had he not recently divorced his longtime partner MacKenzie. She won 20 million Amazon shares in the divorce settlement, which made her the 13th richest person in the world at $64 billion.
Increases in Amazon stock have been consistent, as the pandemic forced consumers in their home and reliant on online orders of products. Harping on the latest fat earnings for Bezos is nothing short of depressing as a majority of Americans struggle in some fashion to do their best to cope with the ongoing health crisis, protests, and political upheaval. It’s time for folks like Bezos to start cutting some checks.
