Coronavirus cases are still soaring across the United States, prompting reinstated lockdowns and an economic downturn comparable to the great depression. However, with many struggling to pay their bills each month, the rich seem to just keep getting richer.
Having recently been dubbed the richest man of all time by Bloomberg, the outlet is now reporting that Jeff Bezos saw his wealth increase by $13 billion in just a single day on Monday, the biggest single-day leap for an individual’s net worth since the Bloomberg Billionaires Index was created in 2012. While many businesses have been decimated by the pandemic, stay-at-home orders have actually aided Amazon, as the online retailer’s shares rose 7.9% on Monday, its largest single-day increase since December 2018.
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Bezos isn’t the only billionaire stuffing his pockets a bit extra in 2020. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly also added $15 billion to his net worth this year.
In just 2020 alone Bezos’ wealth has jumped from $74 billion to $189.3 billion, putting him on pace to become the world’s first trillionaire. Given that many are struggling financially and Amazon paid little to no federal taxes the past few years, many are enraged rather than inspired by Bezos’ obscene wealth, calling for an increased income tax and a new wealth tax. See some reactions to the news from twitter below.