As Amazon has scrambled to adapt to the coronavirus pandemic, CEO and world’s richest person Jeff Bezos has seen a $23.6 billion boost to his personal finances.
Bezos is one of the few billionaires to have seen an increase to his net worth since the beginning of 2020.Bezos’ wealth has increased by roughly 20% over the last four months to $138 billion in April.
Amazon has experienced increased customer demand as the coronavirus keeps people indoors, on lockdown, and on their devices.Amazon’s stock price hit an all-time high on Tuesday, closing at $2,283.32 and lifting its market cap to $1.14 trillion.
Amazon has hired 100,000 extra US workers to cope with demand, and is looking to hire a further 75,000.
But more than 74 US warehouses alone have now reported cases of the virus, and concerns from workers about safety and sanitation have ballooned, leading to employee walkouts and protests.
Amazon has brought in various measures inside its warehouses including a 6-foot distancing rule, supplying cleaning materials and hand wipes for workers, and introducing temperature checks.
Multiple Amazon warehouse workers have told Business Insider they still do not feel safe going into work, saying social-distancing measures are impossible inside the warehouses and sanitary supplies frequently run out.
I need some of that money 😀