Jeff Bezos’s wealth hits record high $171B

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos’s wealth has increased to $171.6 billion, surpassing his own previous record even after his divorce settlement.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index previously put the peak of Bezos’s net worth at $167.7 billion in September 2018, but he is estimated to have accrued at least $56.7 billion in 2020 alone, Bloomberg reported.

After the couple’s divorce, Mackenzie Bezos acquired a 4 percent stake in the retail giant and is estimated to have a net worth of $56.9 billion, putting her in 12^th place in Bloomberg’s rankings.  She is ranked as the world’s second-richest woman after L’Oreal heiress Francoise Bettencourt Meyers, according to the news outlet.

The news comes the same week Amazon announced it would give one-time $500 bonuses to the majority of frontline workers amid sharp criticism of the company for ending hazard pay for workers who have continued to work during the coronavirus pandemic.

Labor activists have also blasted the company for firing worker Christian Smalls from its Staten Island warehouse. While Amazon has said Smalls was fired for reporting to work despite being told he could expose other workers to the virus, he has maintained he was fired for organizing a walkout to protest working conditions.

Overall, the ranking determined that even during the pandemic, the collective net worth of the 500 wealthiest people in the world has increased, rising from $5.91 trillion at the beginning of the year to $5.93 trillion.