Jeff Bezos is now twice as rich as Mark Zuckerberg

• Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' net worth has soared so much during 2020 that his wealth is now double that of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
• Bezos is now worth $140 billion, while Zuckerberg is worth $70 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
• Bezos is one of the few people on the index to see his wealth surge since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Jeff Bezos' wealth has shot up so much since the beginning of this year that he is now twice as rich as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

At the time of writing Jeff Bezos' net worth is estimated at $140 billion, while Zuckerberg is worth just shy of $70 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Bezos is one of the few billionaires to see his wealth increase since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The Amazon CEO has seen his wealth increase by $25 billion since the beginning of this year, making him the richest person in the world, and placing him $35 billion ahead of the second-most wealthy billionaire, Bill Gates.

Zuckerberg is ranked as the fifth richest person on the index, and has seen a drop of $8.4 billion to his net worth since the beginning of 2020.

The dramatic increase in Bezos' wealth is likely due to the huge surge in demand Amazon has experienced as lockdowns and stay-at-home orders force consumers into their houses.

Reports suggest Amazon is coping with demand comparable to its usual peak holiday season.

It has not been entirely plain sailing for the the retail giant however. Workers in the US and Europe have protested the company's safety measures as inadequate as the coronavirus has spread inside its warehouses.

In France a court order stipulating that the company only ship essential items until it brings its safety practises up to code led Amazon to shut down all its warehouses until at least May 5.

Amazon also came under fire this week from Senator Josh Hawley, who called for an antitrust investigation into whether the company uses data from third-party sellers to give its own branded items an unfair advantage.