Amazon becomes second public US company to be worth $1 trillion
Amazon has become the second publicly traded company in the US to be valued at a $1 trillion, just weeks after Apple reached the historic milestone.
The online retailer's stock price rose 1.7 per cent in trading on Tuesday morning – to $2,050.50 per share – putting its market value at just over $1 trillion, according to CNBC.
The achievement was not an unexpected one for the Seattle-based company, the value of which has more than doubled in the last year alone. In the 24 years since its founding, the online retailer has filled a void for customers who are increasingly turning away from brick-and-mortar stores, and amassed a powerful trove of data on its Prime subscription service members.
The success of the company has also made its CEO, Jeff Bezos, the richest person in the world – something progressive Senator Bernie Sanders took shots at during a Labor Day event on Monday.
“We have one person whose wealth is increasing by $250 million every single day, while he pays thousands of his workers wages that are so low that they are forced to go on food stamps, Medicaid, and subsidized housing,” Mr Sanders said, according to MyChamplainValley.com.
The company hit back with a statement claiming Mr Sanders had spread "misleading statements" about employees' pay and benefits, noting that the average hourly wage for full-time associates at the company's fulfilment centres – including cash, stock, and incentive bonuses – was over $15 per hour.
"We encourage anyone to compare our pay and benefits to other retailers," the company said.
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