The net worth of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos reached a new record value of $171,6 billion, after the price of Amazon shares rose due to the switch of millions of consumers to e-commerce during the corona crisis, writes Bloomberg.
Amazon shares rose 4,4 percent on Wednesday to a record $2878,70, increasing its founder's fortune to $171,6 billion. That's more than the record $167,7 billion in September 2018, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Amazon declined to comment on the record increase in value
Amazon took advantage of the mass shift of consumers to e-commerce during the corona crisis.
Bezos' earnings of $56,7 billion this year alone underscore the widening gap between the wealthy and the millions who are losing their jobs in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
The company declined to comment on the increase in Bezos' wealth, reports Hina.
Most of the billionaires with the highest recent gains are also part of the tech milieu. Among them is Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who added $1 billion to his wealth as of January 25,8 this year, and Zoom Video Communications founder Eric Juan, whose fortune almost doubled to $13,1 billion.
The assets of Mackenzie Bezos, who acquired a four percent stake in Amazon after her divorce from Jeff Bezos, are estimated at $56,9 billion.
Not all billionaires profited from the corona crisis
But not every billionaire increased their account this year, notes Bloomberg: Amancio Ortega, the owner of the fashion brand Zara, lost $19,2 billion, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett, lost $19 billion, and the French luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault is thinner for 17,6 billion dollars.
But most survived the downturn, and the combined net worth of the world's 500 richest people now stands at $5,93 trillion, compared to $5,91 trillion at the start of the year, Bloomberg reports.
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