Jeff Bezos' annual salary is a lot less than Bernie Sanders probably thinks (AMZN)

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• Senator Bernie Sanders called out Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on Twitter, but Bezos' annual salary is less than what most US congressmen take home. 

• Bezos is paid an annual salary of $81,840. The majority of his wealth comes from the shares of Amazon stock he owns which continue to rise. 

• Watch Amazon trade in real-time here. 

Senator Bernie Sanders called out Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on Twitter on Tuesday, comparing the executive's wealth to the typical Amazon worker who makes a little over $28,000. While Bernie Sanders may have been making a point about workers' wages, Bezos' annual salary is likely much smaller than what most might expect. 

Sanders tweeted, "Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' wealth increases by $275 million every single day. Meanwhile, Amazon workers have to rely on food stamps and public assistance just to survive."

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Though Bezos owns one of the largest tech companies in the world and earned the top spot on the Forbes 2018 richest people list, his annual salary comes out to $81,840 according to Bloomberg. Much of his wealth comes not from his salary but from the Amazon shares he owns. Bezos currently holds 78,893,033 shares or 16.3% of the shares outstanding.

While the figure is more than double what the typical Amazon worker makes, Bezos' annual salary is less than what the typical doctor or US congressman makes in a year. In 2017, primary care physicians earned $217,000 according to the 2018 Medscape Physician Compensation Report. US senators earned an annual salary of $174,000 in 2017. The median household income in the US is currently stands around $59,055 as of January 2018 according to estimates made by Political Calculations. 

That is not to say that Bezos isn't wealthy or that Amazon workers are or are not treated fairly. Sanders' claim that Bezos' wealth increases by $275 million every day was backed by an article published by Money that came up with the estimate using figures on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. However, Bezos' $130.8 billion net worth is tied up in stock, and his wealth increases as long as Amazon's share price increases. Over the last three years, Amazon's share price increased by more than 272%. 

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