The World's Richest Person Is Now Richer Than Ever

The Amazon founder is worth a staggering amount of money
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 2, 2020 9:00 AM CDT
The World's Richest Person Is Now Richer Than Ever
In this June 19, 2019, file photo, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is seen during the JFK Space Summit at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston.   (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Get a raise last year? Jeff Bezos saw his gains go up, too—by $56.7 billion, which makes the world's richest person literally richer than ever, Bloomberg reports. His wealth rose along with a 4.4% surge in Amazon stock, which put shares at a record $2,878.70 Wednesday and the founder's value at an all-time high of $171.6 billion. And that's despite ex-wife MacKenzie taking 25% of their Amazon stock during their 2019 divorce, per CNN. She's also wealthier than ever, with a value of $57 billion, making her the world's 12th-richest person on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Bezos is benefiting from a surge in Amazon sales as consumers shift to e-commerce amid the coronavirus pandemic. But it's not all roses: The company has been criticized for worker safety and pay during the outbreak, and even cut a $2 hourly wage increase and double overtime pay in May for frontline workers. Some employees have launched protests over what they call unsafe conditions at Amazon job sites. Then the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Amazon was paying over $500 million in one-time bonuses to frontline workers and delivery partners—who, according to an Amazon blog post, will each get between $150 and $3,000, depending on their position and whether they work full time or part time. (More Jeff Bezos stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X