The coronavirus pandemic may have ushered in the worst economic downturn in the US since the Great Depression, but Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ net worth continues to rocket.
In fact, the world’s richest man got even richer on July 20, adding a record-breaking $13 billion to his net worth.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which was created in 2012, Bezos’ $13 billion is believed to be the largest earnings for an individual in a single day.
And if you’re keeping track, that brings the 56-year-old’s net worth to an estimated $189.3 billion. (To put that into perspective, Bloomberg has pointed out that Bezos’ personal net worth is more than the market value of entire corporations like McDonald’s, Exxon Mobile and Nike.)
Despite an estimated 20.6 million jobs being lost in the US from mid-March to May due to the coronavirus pandemic, corporations like Bezos’ Amazon have benefited from the lockdown.
As all in-person shopping was forced to be put on hold, consumers turned to online options, accounting for the largest jump in Amazon stock prices since December 2018 (and Bezos’ extra billions).
Other billionaires who keep getting richer, according to Bloomberg, include Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla’s Elon Musk.
Zuckerberg’s net worth is currently valued at $93.1 billion, thanks to a nearly $15 billion increase in 2020. And after a $5.7 billion increase on Monday, Musk’s net worth has reached $74.5 billion.
