Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post, solidified his status as the world’s wealthiest man after his net worth reached the $200 billion mark, according to the Daily Caller.
Bezos reached the astounding milestone on Wednesday, with the Caller noting that he is not alone in expanding his wealth during the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown, which has significantly increased business for Amazon due to the rise in online shopping. Two other prominent CEOs who saw their net worths reach significant landmarks are Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who both reached $100 billion.
Bezos and Amazon have come under heavy fire in recent months from both political parties, for widely varying reasons. Some Democrats have criticized him for his immense wealth and a near-monopoly on online shopping with Amazon, while Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have criticized him and the Washington Post for their overwhelmingly left-wing bias in their “reporting” of the news.
The American economy, while clearly on the rise from the worst of the coronavirus lockdowns in April and May, still has millions of Americans out of work due to the virus. There are still roughly 16 million Americans out of work, although the unemployment rate recently fell below 10 percent. The stock market has also made significant gains in recent days, with the Nasdaq and S&P both achieving record highs, and the DOW Jones nearly back to the same level it was at right before the virus first hit.