Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg added $34.6 billion and $25 billion respectively during the coronavirus lockdown between mid-March and mid-May.
Despite most businesses struggling to stay afloat during the coronavirus lockdown, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg were rewarded heavily by the crisis. According to a post by CNBC, the two U.S. billionaires saw their wealth rise by $34.6 billion for Jeff Bezos and $25 billion for Mark Zuckerberg in the past two months.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos
For Bezos, his fortune has been largely attributed to the sharp increase in demand for amazon grocery doorstep delivery services. The service is so popular that it meets more than 50% of the U.S. households, hence the increase in his wealth.
Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) has had to cancel previous deals with external companies seeking to make use of its shipping services like FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX). According to the company, the high demand as more people adhere to the stay at home order has seen its revenue skyrocket.
In the first quarter, the company recorded a revenue of $75.45 billion and earnings per share of $5.01. Amazon web services, which have seen its cloud business increase during the same period recorded a revenue of $10 billion.
With the uncertainty surrounding the ongoing coronavirus that has already infected almost 5 million people, according to data from the World Health Organization, Amazon is anticipating to have better quarters ahead.
During the Q1 reporting, the company announced that it plans to spend all its profit from the second quarter, around $4 billion, on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. “If you’re a shareowner in Amazon, you may want to take a seat, because we’re not thinking small,” the company said in a statement.
If the company can deliver on its promise, not only will the shareholders reap hugely but will Bezos accumulate more billions in his wealth.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg Follows Bezos
On the other hand, Zuckerberg, who runs the giant tech company, Facebook, will continue counting more billions, if the COVID-19 persists. The reason is that it is an online business that has firm roots in the market.
The billionaire had to strategize the company’s operation since its ad business was significantly affected by the coronavirus outbreak. One of its strategies was to offer the World Health Organization free ads to keep its daily users high.
According to its Q1 report, the company recorded $17.74 billion, which is nearly 18% up in comparison to $15.08 billion it reported during the 1st quarter of last year. Incredibly, it said that it counts 2.99 billion monthly users across its apps, compared to 2.89 billion in the previous quarter.
Besides, the company reported earnings per share of $1.71, with its share scaling higher amid coronavirus. As with Bezos, Zuckerberg anticipates continuing reaping huge the coronavirus crisis.
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