Getty Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos
After Jeff Bezos’ net worth increased by a staggering $13 billion in one day, some Twitter users have a suggestion for what he can do with all that cash: Send Americans a second COVID-19 stimulus check.
Numerous people had the same idea as Congress debates whether or not to send Americans a second government check. The pandemic has helped fuel Bezos’ mouth-dropping wealth gains this year as more people head online to shop, often turning to his brainchild, Amazon.com. Maybe it’s time for Bezos to give Americans some of the money back, Twitter users argued.
(On July 23, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin revealed that the second stimulus checks will follow the same amount and eligibility rules as the first; that means millions of people will get another $1,200 check. The eligibility rules for the first round of checks specified that people earning less than $75,000 would qualify, with the checks being phased out up to $99,000 in income.)
How are you, one man, worth $172 BILLION? Jeff Bezos needs to start giving out stimulus checks.
One man was succinct about it. “so is jeff bezos gonna take care of the bill for next stimulus check or…” he wrote. “I got a one time stimulus check during a global pandemic. imagine if Jeff bezos decided to be a good person. IMAGINE!” wrote another. Some people pointed out that a lot of Americans just put their stimulus checks back into Bezos’ pocket by shopping on Amazon anyway.
The jokes about Bezos and stimulus checks came after the Amazon honcho saw the largest single-day increase in net worth of anyone on the planet since 2012 at least. Fox Business reported that Bezos’ net worth grew by $74 billion this year to more than $189 billion, fueled by stock increases.
On June 29, Amazon did give a thank you bonus to its workers that cost the company more than $500 million. The bonus checks amounted to:
$500 for full-time Amazon employees, Whole Foods Market employees, and Delivery Service Partner drivers
$250 for part-time Amazon employees, Whole Foods Market employees, and Delivery Service Partner drivers
$1,000 for all front-line Amazon and Whole Foods Market leaders
$3,000 for our Delivery Service Partner owners
$150 for each Amazon Flex driver with more than 10 hours in June
Here’s what you need to know:
Twitter Users Wish Bezos Would Fork Over the Cash
It’s doubtful Bezos will suddenly decide to gift Americans with such largesse, and he’s certainly not obligated to do so in a capitalistic society, but that didn’t stop Twitter users from hoping. Here are some comments from other people who had the same idea:
@JeffBezos Do you think you could send out that second stimulus check ?! Asking for a friend!
ong i had the weirdest dream last night, so basically jeff bezos died and ig he was secretly nice so in his will he told his lawyer to “give the money to the people“ so we all got a $1 million stimulus check… then i woke up 😔
Like this if you think the next round of stimulus checks should come from Jeff Bezos
Another person had a twist on the idea, writing, “@JeffBezos, you could afford to give all us Prime members a stimulus check. How about a grocery credit at the very least. Thoughts?”
“F*** a government stimulus check, can we get a Jeff Bezos stimulus check 🤔,” wrote a man. “He got wayyy to much money over there.” Another wrote, “Jeff Bezos could give everybody in America stimulus checks and still be rich as f***. Anybody wanna go Christmas *wink* shopping *wink*?”
“Some morning perspective,” a man opined on Twitter. “A $1,200 one-time stimulus check that the US gov sent out is< 0. 0000001% of Bezos SINGLE DAY net worth gain on July 20, 2020.”
The memes and jokes flew.
Jeff Bezos accepting his stimulus check for Amazon even though they definitely didn’t need it
Bernie Sanders Trashed Bezos’ Big Wealth Gain
During this pandemic Jeff Bezos saw his wealth increase by $74 billion.
Meanwhile, 50 million Americans are filing for unemployment, and millions face hunger, lack of health care and evictions.
Unacceptable!
We must create an economy that works for all, not just the very rich.
On July 20, Bernie Sanders wrote, “During this pandemic Jeff Bezos saw his wealth increase by $74 billion. Meanwhile, 50 million Americans are filing for unemployment, and millions face hunger, lack of health care and evictions. Unacceptable! We must create an economy that works for all, not just the very rich.”
Another man on Twitter wrote, “Jeff bezos is probably lobbying for big stimulus checks, extended unemployment, and longer shut down… so that you stay home and get everything delivered to you by f****** Amazon.”
According to Biography.com, Bezos, who was born in 1964 in New Mexico, “had an early love of computers and studied computer science and electrical engineering at Princeton University.” He worked on Wall Street for a time and for an investment firm.
Them, according to Biography.com, he decided to launch Amazon.com. The commerce platform was originally an online bookstore before expanding to the shopping destination we know today.
READ NEXT: Remembering Summer Taylor, the Seattle Protester Struck by a Car