Jeff Bezos’s Wealth Hits New High Of $172 Billion Topping Pre-Divorce Record
Published
| Last updated
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’s wealth has soared once again; the world’s richest man is now the wealthiest he’s ever been.
As people around the world turned to online shopping during the pandemic, Amazon has raked in a tidal wave of cash. By avoiding physical shopping, and with lockdown prohibiting it, a titanic rise in e-commerce has been seen.
Since February this year, Bezos has been making calculated moves that have only solidified his position at the top of the world’s rich list. Even after giving $36 billion of his Amazon stock to ex-wife Mackenzie Bezos as part of a divorce settlement last year, his surging wealth is irrepressible.
Owning 11% of Amazon.com Inc.’s share, Bezos’s previous record stood at $167.7 billion in September 2018. However, after the company’s shares rose 4.4% on Wednesday, July 1 – now at a record $2,878.70 – his net worth was boosted to $171.6 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.
Across the first half of this year, the figurehead’s wealth has increased by a total of $56.7 billion, all while the US endures its most significant economic downturn since the Great Depression.
While Amazon has hired thousands of people since the outbreak began, there’s been no shortage of criticisms; whether it be Bezos asking people to donate to an employee relief fund, pushing profit over the safety of workers, and ending pandemic hazard pay. On the latter issue, Amazon is set to spend $500 million to give one-time $500 bonuses to most front-line workers.
However, Bezos isn’t the only wealthier member of the elite. Despite the hiccup with the Cybertruck, the wealth of Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk has increased by $25.8 billion, while the net worth of Zoom Video Communications’ founder Eric Yuan has nearly quadrupled to $13.1 billion.
Mackenzie Bezos now sits in 12th place on the world’s rich list, with a net worth of $56.9 billion since acquiring a 4% stake in Amazon. This makes her the second-richest woman on the globe, behind L’Oreal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, who’s worth $64 billion.
Bill Gates still sits in the number two spot with a net worth of $114 billion, and has had an increase of $483 million since the start of the year. While in third place, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has enjoyed a serious surge – with an $11.8 billion increase, his wealth stands at $90.2 billion.
While I’m sure there’s much sympathy out there for the world’s billionaires – ha! – let me put your worries at ease. At the beginning of the year, the collective net worth of the 500 richest people stood at $5.91 trillion. Despite the odds, it now stands at $5.93 trillion.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
.jpg)
