And you thought the second wave of the coronavirus was nasty. Before the second wave has even hit first wave hot spots like New York, a second wave of layoffs is coming. Thank you, lockdown gurus!
A study by Daniel Alpert of Cornell University, the Job Quality Index and RIWI Corp. shows that another round of layoffs and furloughs is under way as Congress debates what to do about the phase four coronavirus relief plan. Alpert may be best known as leader of Westwood Capital, a well-known wealth management firm, and the author of “The Age of Oversupply: Confronting the Greatest Challenge to the Global Economy.”
The study, conducted from July 23 to August 1, showed that workers placed back on payrolls by employers after the first round of lockdowns are being laid off again.
The world’s richest person, Jeff Bezos, is wealthier than he’s ever been. Early Wednesday he crossed a milestone previously unseen in the nearly four decades Forbes has been tracking net worths: With Amazon stock edging up 2% as of Wednesday afternoon, Bezos’ net worth is up by $4.9 billion, making the 56-year-old the world’s first-ever person to amass a $200 billion fortune.
As of 1:50 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, the Amazon founder and CEO is worth $204.6 billion—nearly $90 billion more than the world’s second-richest person, Bill Gates, who’s currently worth $116.1 billion.