According to new reports, Jeff Bezos is the first man to be worth $200 billion. While the Amazon founder can be happy that his net worth is higher than most countries, not everyone is taking the news lightly. In fact, protesters responded to the report by building a guillotine in front of his Washington house.
The Washington Examiner reports that the protest was organized by former Amazon employee Chris Smalls to demand a $30 minimum wage for Amazon workers. Around 100 people showed up for the demonstration and decried the Amazon boss' record-setting wealth.
Smalls shared his own experience working for the corporation, claiming that Amazon had responded inadequately to the Coronavirus pandemic and that infected employees were still made to come to work. During the pandemic, Bezos himself made over $24 billion.
In March, Smalls said he walked out of the Staten Island shipping center to protest the working conditions. Amazon fired him shortly afterward. "Give a good reason why we don't deserve a $30 minimum wage when this man makes $4,000 a second," he said.
During the demonstration, protesters set up a guillotine – a device devised during the French Revolution for beheading the nobility – in front of Bezos's house and surrounded it with signs condemning his poor treatment of employees.
"Hey, Jeff Bezos. I'm going to let you know something today: We are just getting started," Smalls chanted. "We're going to go to every single location you've got across the country and set up shop until you meet our demands as workers."
