Coronavirus outbreak makes Amazon boss Jeff Bezos $24 billion richer

The coronavirus pandemic has brought good fortune to Amazon Inc founder and Chief Executive Jeff Bezos in the form of $24 billion. Bezos' overall wealth soared as demand for online shopping sent the company's stock to a new high. With this, Jeff Bezos' wealth has topped $138 billion, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index says. The e-tailer boss owns 11 per cent stake in the world's biggest online shopping platform.

As part of preventive measures against coronavirus, most countries have placed lockdown measures, giving rise to online shopping and thus a boost to revenues of companies like Amazon and Walmart. At a time when many big companies have resorted to unprecedented job cuts due to the havoc wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon has been on a hiring spree. The company has recently recruited thousands of workers to manage the spike in online demand.

Also read: Coronavirus Lockdown India Live Updates: COVID-19 deaths cross 400-mark; Maharashtra's toll highest at 187

Despite criticism over failure to ensure workplace protections amid the pandemic in the United States, Amazon's share has risen 5.3 per cent. The company's India unit has, however, plans to shut down its 2-hour grocery delivery app Prime Now, and all the services of the app would now be moved to the main Amazon app.

Earlier last week, Amazon resumed accepting orders for grocery essentials through Amazon Pantry service. The e-commerce company had stalled its services due to coronavirus lockdown.

Meanwhile, the total number of COVID-19 cases crossed the 12,000-mark as the country formally entered the second leg of nationwide lockdown on April 15. India's tally has climbed to 12,380 comprising 10,477 active cases and 414 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The world tally on coronavirus stands at over 20 lakh, including 1.34 lakh deaths.

Also read: Amazon to shut down 2-hour delivery app Prime Now in India