It has recently been a rough time for tech companies such as Twitter and Meta after announcing huge layoffs. But now, Amazon has become the center of attention as it has lost $1 trillion worth of market value.
It’s recorded to be the first public company to have made such a significant loss.
But before we dive deep into that story, let’s have brief look at the history of the billionaire behind the company…
Born in 1964 in New Mexico, Bezos always held a huge passion for computers.
He studied computer science and electrical engineering at Princeton University.
But, 4 years later in 1995, he quit.
He went on to open his own online bookstore from his garage called Amazon.com.
The birth of Amazon.com changed everything for Bezos.
The initial success of the online store was staggering. Within the first thirty days, Amazon.com had sold books all across the United States, and across forty-five foreign countries.
In mere years following from its launch, Amazon.com began stocking a wider variety of products…
Including electronics, clothing, and toys, which made it the number 1 online retailer.
And he didn’t stop there…
In 2013, Bezos revealed that he had purchased the Washington Post, which he has since made profitable with a revenue of over $100 million.
Bezos has faced a significant amount of controversy…
With regard to his work ethic and spending habits.
Over the last couple of years, more and more stories of Amazon workers being forced to work unethical hours for ridiculously low wages
Workers have been getting as little as $10 an hour, in some instances.
Despite the retailer being one of the most valuable companies in the world, and pulling in $232.9 billion in global revenue in 2018.
They paid absolutely nothing in federal tax that year. Doesn’t look great for the wealthiest man in the world, does it?
Bezos still remains one of the most powerful men in the world…
And a little tax evasion and unethical labor definitely won’t be fazing him anytime soon.
Because these last few months, in particular, have been very beneficial for Bezos.
While the majority of the world has been in lockdown, Amazon’s sales have been skyrocketing.
Comparisun, a business software comparison site…
Used data collected from the last 5 years of the Forbes Rich List to calculate the yearly wealth growth rate of the world’s richest billionaires.
The study concluded that Bezos could certainly become the world’s first trillionaire in 2026, at which point he will be sixty-two-years-old…
The research also predicted that Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, could follow Bezos by becoming the world’s second trillionaire ten years later in 2036.
Most of us can only dream of making Forbes’ billionaire list…
Bezos has opened up about the routine behind his success as a businessman and how he gains such incredible wealth.
During an interview, the billionaire said: “I get eight hours of sleep a night. I prioritize it. For me I need eight hours of sleep. I think better. I have more energy. My mood is better. All these things.”
He continues: “And think about it; as a Senior Executive, what do you really get paid to do? As a Senior Executive, you get paid to make a small number of high quality decisions.
“If I make like three good decisions a day, that’s enough. And they should be just as high quality as I can make them.”
Bezos mentioned billionaire Warren Buffet in the interview, saying, “Warren Buffet says he’s good if he makes three good decisions a year!”
However, Bezos has recently hit headlines for an entirely different reason…
His housekeeper has claimed she contracted UTI while cleaning his home and, as a result, Bezos has been sued, UNILAD reported.
Mercedes Wedaa was hired by Bezos back in 2019, which required her to “work around a family without being seen,” according to her complaint.
Wedaa had many issues when making the lawsuit.
She later became the lead housekeeper, who would oversee 5 to 6 people on shift.
According to the Daily Mail, Wedaa would sometimes interact with the billionaire when he was at the home.
Before working for Bezos…
She had reportedly been a housekeeper for wealthy and high-profile families for eighteen years, according to the lawsuit.
According to her, the work environment at the Bezos household was terrible for the housekeepers.
She claimed that there were no rooms for them to rest and that they were made to work fourteen-hour shifts without any breaks.
But that’s not all…
Apparently, there were no accessible bathrooms for her and the other housekeepers to use.
Wedaa also revealed her role and what she and her colleagues couldn’t do.
They were only allowed to enter the house to clean when the Bezos family was at home…
This meant the housekeepers could not use the laundry door to access a bathroom directly, as it led only to the residence.
Wedaa said this situation lasted for around eighteen months.
However, this wasn’t a good time for her and her fellow colleagues.
Reportedly, Wedaa complained to bosses about undocumented workers being brought in on a contract basis…
As well as the lack of rest breaks and unsafe working conditions.
But her attempts to change the situation worsened…
And she revealed more details about what occurred after she voiced her concerns.
She claimed that Bezos’s household manager “became aggressive and abusive” towards her while being “respectful and polite” towards White groundskeepers.
And that’s not all…
They allegedly mocked, ridiculed, disrespected, and demeaned her, as per reports.
Keep scrolling…
There was also alleged discrimination going on against Hispanic housekeepers, and the majority of the time, they were forced to eat in the laundry room.
She also recalled the time she was wrongly dismissed after she was told she appeared “unhappy” at work, which was having a negative effect on the team.
Her lawyer, Patrick McGuigan said she had “worked hard all her life, she is a very credible person and compelling evidence supports her claims.”
Documents filed by McGuigan stated: “Employers discriminated against Plaintiff because of her race, forced Plaintiff to work long hours without rest or meal breaks, exposed Plaintiff to unsafe and unsanitary work conditions, retaliated against and wrongfully terminated Plaintiff’s employment.”
Wedaa contracted the infection after she claimed the work environment was “unsanitary.”
The role required Wedaa to work around the Bezos’, and due to that very reason, she had restricted access to the toilets as it was only accessible directly through the laundry room, which led to the residence.
Instead of going through the laundry room, the housekeepers would sometimes climb out of the laundry room window onto a path that led to a mechanical room and to a downstairs toilet.
But due to the lack of access to the bathrooms, she and many other housekeepers them contracted UTIs.
The lawsuit also claimed that “no one ever told [Wedaa] she was entitled to breaks and no one ever told her to take a break. [She] did not know she was legally entitled to rest and lunch breaks.”
But Bezos denied these claims…
And he said it “lacked merit.”
The Amazon founder’s lawyer Harry Korrell said that the former housekeeper filed the lawsuit after her demand for a $9m million payout was rejected.
Korrell said: “Ms Wedaa made over six figures annually and was the lead housekeeper.”
He even said she was responsible for her own break time…
“She was responsible for her own break and meal times, and there were several bathrooms and breakrooms available to her and other staff.”
He also added that Wedaa was terminated from her role…
“The evidence will show that Ms Wedaa was terminated for performance reasons.
“Given their backgrounds, the suggestion that Bezos, Sanchez, or Northwestern LLC discriminated against Ms. Wedaa based on her race or national origin is absurd,” Korrell concluded.
But now, it seems as though the billionaire has other pressing matters at hand…
As Amazon has lost a massive $1 trillion.
Bloomberg reports that in July last year, Amazon’s market value was at $1.88 trillion, making the $1 trillion loss the first time ever in history.
CFO of Amazon Brian Olsavsky told Reuters: “We are seeing signs all around that, again, people’s budgets are tight, inflation is still high, energy costs are an additional layer on top of that caused by other issues.
“We are preparing for what could be a slower growth period, like most companies.”
The $1 trillion loss also took a major hit at Bezos and his ranking scale as the world’s richest man.
The news outlet reports that he has shifted 2 places down the rank, putting him at the number 4 spot.
What do you think?