All Eyes on Bezos: Why is The World's Trillionaire Being Attacked on Social Media?

Wasn't turning distressing times into opportunities praiseworthy? Wasn't it considered brilliant that people can emerge from a crisis making the most out of it? Isn't it smart that people can actually take advantage of the most troubling times as much as they can?

News of Amazon's CEO and richest man on earth Jeff Bezos growing his wealth by about $24b during the coronavirus pandemic, has soon landed him under fire by people who quickly accused him "of exploiting the crisis."

Despite plunging stock markets and more than 16 million Americans filing for unemployment aid amid serious warnings of long-term rescission, the e-commerce giant has been able to benefit from the crisis; mainly be providing delivery services to millions of people in lockdown.  Thus adding billions of dollars to the already huge wealth he has.

Criticism targeting Bezos was focused on how one man can continue to make profit despite the increasingly alarming health situation on a global level, especially in the US where COVID-19 has infected and killed more people than it did anywhere else in the world so far.

People furious at Bezos also pointed out several disputes his company has had with its workers in the last few weeks. The disagreements were mostly over demands for better personal protective gear and fears of contracting the deadly virus if the workers continued to operate in warehouses on a daily basis.

The richest man on earth has also been blamed for putting very little money into donations to coronavirus victims or the health sector in light of how much he makes. Many social media users called him "selfish" and "greedy". 

Earlier this month, Bezos reportedly donated $100m to food banks, in order to support their efforts to feed the homeless and the millions of unemployed Americans. 

Last month, the $138b worth-man launched The Amazon Relief Fund which he supported by $25m, through which the public can donate to help Amazon employees during the crisis.

This is not the first time for Bezos to stir controversy during global disasters. Last January he was also under fire for donating less than a million dollars to relief victims of the Australian wildfires, which devastated the country for several weeks.