'Amazon's Jeff Bezos Becomes First Person Ever Worth $200 Billion'

[appalachiablue]

'Jeff Bezos Becomes The First Person Ever Worth $200 Billion.' By Jonathan Ponciano, Forbes, Aug. 26, 2020. -Excerpts:

The world's richest person, Jeff Bezos, is wealthier than he's ever been. Early Wednesday he crossed a milestone previously unseen in the nearly four decades Forbes has been tracking net worths: With Amazon stock edging up 2% as of Wednesday afternoon, Bezos' net worth is up by $4.9 billion, making the 56-year-old the world's first-ever person to amass a $200 billion fortune.

As of 1:50 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, the Amazon founder & CEO is worth $204.6 billion—nearly $90 billion more than the world's 2nd-richest person, Bill Gates, who's currently worth $116.1 billion. Even adjusting for inflation, Forbes believes Bezos' fortune is the largest ever tracked. The person to come closest is Gates, who was the world's first-ever centibillionaire. Near the height of the dot-com bubble, when Microsoft reached its then-peak in 1999, Gates' net worth surpassed $100 billion, roughly $158 billion in today's dollars.



- Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.

Fueled by the change in consumer habits as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Amazon stock is up nearly 80% since the beginning of the year, & Bezos' net worth, which was roughly $115 billion on January 1, has skyrocketed in tandem. Bezos’ roughly 11% stake in Amazon makes up more than 90% of his fortune. He also owns the Washington Post, aerospace company Blue Origin & other private investments. Bezos would be even richer had he not gone through the most expensive divorce settlement in history last year..

Bezos isn’t alone among tech titans with fortunes surging to massive new heights. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg ended Tuesday as a brand-new centibillionaire, worth $103.1 billion after adding $3.4 billion to his fortune in one day, on Facebook stock gains..There are now more centibillionaires on the planet than ever. Joining Bezos, Gates and & Zuckerberg is LVMH chair Bernard Arnault, who first joined the 12-figure ranks last year. Though his net worth slipped to about $80 billion at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in March, Arnault reclaimed the centibillionaire title & today is worth about $115 billion. This makes him the 3rd-richest person on earth–$90 billion poorer than Jeff Bezos...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanponciano/2020/08/26/worlds-richest-billionaire-jeff-bezos-first-200-billion/#56353da04db7
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'Jeff Bezos just became the 1st man worth $200 Billion. 30 million American households didn't have enough food this week. Amazon still can't afford to provide paid sick leave, hazard pay & personal protective equipment for thousands of warehouse workers.' - Robert Reich, economist & former US Labor Secretary for President Clinton.

[Midnight Writer]

1. Think of the good he could do with that much money. He could change the world for the better.

Or he could just keep collecting more and more money til he dies.

I wonder which he will do?

[appalachiablue]

4. Bezos would be remembered well if he did more with the $;

some things can't be bought, like character, compassion and more.

[jimfields33]

10. Majority is in stock so basically on paper

I wonder if he sold half what would happen?

[SheltieLover]

2. He needs to use $ for the greater good, imo.

Doesn't sound likely, thou.

[appalachiablue]

5. He should, his resources could do major things &

he would be regarded as a generous and decent person of great wealth.

[SheltieLover]

6. Indeed!

Totally agree!

[PETRUS]

8. I don't disagree, but...

Hoping for morally laudable behavior from billionaires is no way to run a society. It's totally inappropriate that the law is written in such a way that accumulating anything even close to that amount of wealth is possible at all, as far as I'm concerned.

[appalachiablue]

11. It's corrupt as hell, but until the tax laws are changed...

Billionaire philanthropy, I'm not a supporter in general.

Pay. your. taxes. as. Rutger. Bregman. says.

[AZ8theist]

3. Misleading.

Speculation is that Putin is worth much more than that. However, due to the fact he is in charge of a crime syndicate, their is no reliable way to assess his net worth.

[comradebillyboy]

7. When he got divorced his ex got half

of his wealth. He's made a nice recovery since that big loss.

[BigmanPigman]

9. How much does he donate per year and

does he donate? His ex is donating tons!

[onetexan]

12. Well no wonder the "i-am-worth-10 billion" Serial Liar is so jealous of Bezos!

[appalachiablue]

13. Protesters W/ Mock Guillotine Outside Bezos DC Home, Worth $200 Bill, Makes $4,000 Per Second

'American Capitalism Is Off the Rails': Bezos Now Worth $200 Billion as Millions Struggle to Afford Essentials.' Protesters rally outside Bezos' D.C. to demand $30/hr min. wage for Amazon workers after world's richest man sets new wealth record. Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams, Aug. 28, 2020.

...The Washington Examiner reports former Amazon warehouse employee Chris Smalls led a Thursday protest outside Bezos' Washington, D.C. home in response to the news of the Washington Post owner's milestone. Around 100 protesters rallied in the tony Kalorama neighborhood, some of them building a mock guillotine on the sidewalk outside Bezos' $23 million mansion.

"If we're working for you and you're not taking care of us, we're coming for you," declared Smalls, according to Bloomberg Technology. "Give a reason why we don't deserve a $30 minimum wage when this man makes $4,000 a second," he added.

Smalls then led demonstrators in a chant of, "If we don't get it, shut it down!"

"Hey Jeff Bezos, I'm going to let you know something today," said Smalls. "We are just getting started. We're going to every single location you've got across the country and set up shop until you meet our demands as workers."...

More,
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/28/american-capitalism-rails-bezos-now-worth-200-billion-millions-struggle-afford

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