Tesla’s Elon Musk is now the fifth richest person in the world, while Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos added a record $13 billion to his net worth.
Ex-Amazon worker Christian Smalls led a protest of the corporation’s coronavirus standards outside CEO Jeff Bezos’ $16 million apartment in New York City on Monday.
Several dozen people showed up to the protest, according to social media videos. Protesters were also there to demand Amazon allow employees to unionize and “a federal wealth tax on the top 3% of earners in the United States,” according to a press release from Smalls’ group, the Congress of Essential Workers.
“I have workers [who] contact me all the time. They’re not protected still,” Smalls told 360aproko ahead of the protest. “There are cases in buildings, people are still contracting the virus. … Some people are bringing the virus home, and relatives are dying. It’s an unfortunate situation they’re putting their workers in.”
JEFF BEZOS ADDS $13B TO NET WORTH
Smalls was fired in March after staging a small walkout over conditions at a Staten Island warehouse. He quickly gained media spotlight after calling for Amazon’s JFK8 fulfillment center to be shut down for deep cleaning and accusing the corporation of lying about how many workers have tested positive for the virus.
“It cost me my career. Guess what? I have no regrets,” Smalls said at Sunday’s protest.
An Amazon spokesperson previously said Smalls was terminated for “violating social distancing guidelines and putting the safety of others at risk.”
Smalls’ group is targeting Bezos after the billionaire had most significant single-day increase in personal wealth — $13 billion — in late July. The mogul bought the $16 million New York City apartment in April.
