Amazon owner likely to become world’s first trillionaire

While the coronavirus pandemic has racked the global economy with uncertainty, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is on track to become the world’s first trillionaire by the year 2026.

The business software comparison site used data collected from the last five years of the Forbes Rich List to calculate the yearly wealth growth rate of the world’s richest billionaires.

Bezos’ wealth has been increasing at an average yearly rate of 34% over the past five years, and that’s despite turning over Amazon shares worth an estimated $38 billion to his ex-wife, MacKenzie Bezos, as part of their recent divorce settlement.

Bezos is currently worth around $138 billion and has seen his fortune grow by $28.3 billion so far in 2020.

Bezos isn’t alone there. While the coronavirus has ravaged the economy, forcing 36 million Americans to file for unemployment over the past two months, US billionaires quickly saw their collective wealth rebound by $282 billion, roughly 9.5%, between March 18 (close to when the stock market hit its low point) and April 10.

At the same time Amazon’s success continues to boost Bezos’ personal fortune, the company is facing growing criticism of its treatment of workers during the pandemic, including its recent move to drop a $2 per hour pay raise for warehouse employees. Workers have staged multiple protests over working conditions in recent weeks as the number of COVID-19 cases potentially surpassing 400 (Amazon has refused to share official numbers).

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