Despite severe economic recession due to coronavirus pandemic, uber-rich Americans have become richer within the last two months of lockdown.

As reported by Business Today, “Amazon boss Jeff Bezos and Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg have clocked huge gains in their fortunes as technology stocks gained during two months of coronavirus pandemic. While Bezos’ wealth rose over 30 percent to $147.6 billion, Zuckerberg’s fortune climbed by over 45 percent to $80 billion”.

Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon

According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index Ranking updated on May 21, Zuckerberg has now bagged the title of the world’s third-richest man, surpassing billionaires like Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet and fashion magnate Bernard Arnault. He now has an estimated net worth of $87.8 billion.

As reported by Daily Sun, “The company beat Wall Street expectations in revenue and daily active users, generating $17.74 billion and attracting 1.73 billion users in the first three months of 2020. The company also reported it had reached 3 billion monthly users across its family of apps, which includes Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. By the next morning, Facebook stock jumped as much as 8%, netting the company $44 billion in added market value”.

The debut of Messenger Rooms

The company’s recent growth can be attributed to significant business expansions in e-commerce and video chatting.

Facebook recently debuted Messenger Rooms as video conferencing apps like Zoom and Houseparty saw a light blow in popularity among masses. It allows a maximum of 50 people to join a group call at the same time.

Interestingly, Messenger Rooms can also be used by those who are on WhatsApp and Instagram. One need not have a Facebook account to join a conversation. However, to host a call, it is mandatory to have a Facebook account.


Read more: Why Is Mark Zuckerberg Interested In Mukesh Ambani?


Refocusing attention on online shopping

Mark Zuckerberg refocused his attention on online retailing with Facebook’s ‘Shops’. Shops is an updated and better version of an existing Facebook feature with a similar name. It allows users to upload product catalogs on their Facebook page or Instagram profile. Hence, it serves as a great social marketing platform for online retailers.

Media outlet CNBC reported that shares of Facebook reached an all-time high of $230.75 after the company updated about its interests in online shopping by introducing a new feature called ‘Shops’.

“This is really the first very major push that we’re going to be making into that next step around commerce,” Zuckerberg said in an interview.

He also accentuated the importance of Shops for small retailers and businesses as most of them are operating exclusively online during the lockdown.

According to Zuckerberg majority of the Facebook advertisers run small businesses, so ensuring their prosperity is fundamentally important to Facebook’s business as well.

However, Facebook reported it experienced a “significant reduction” in advertising demand over the last three weeks of the first quarter.

First-quarter earnings for technology companies and social platforms were comparatively promising. Second-quarter results — covering business from April 1 to June 30 — will represent the effect of coronavirus lockdown on company profits.

These chief innovations and marketing strategies gave a boost to Zuckerberg’s company and made him the third richest man in this world, only behind Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.


Image credits: Google images

Sources: Business Insider, Times of India, The Print and Business Today

Find the blogger: @lisa_tay_ari

This post is tagged under: covid, Economic Crisis, economic recession, facebook, Jeff Bezos, mark zuckerberg, Mark Zuckerberg Third Richest Man, Mark Zuckerberg Third Richest Man Of The World, Messenger Rooms, online retailing, video conferencing


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