Pity billionaire Jeff Bezos. The Amazon CEO’s net worth is down by about $9.86 billion since the company’s recent stock rout started, on March 28, following a report that President Donald Trump was considering ways to change the tax treatment of the e-commerce giant.
On April 2, Amazon shares experienced their largest single-day point loss ever and closed down 5.21%, on continued concerns that the company could face increased regulation after Trump tweeted that the company was responsible for retailers shutting down across the country.
This wasn’t the first time Trump has used Twitter to voice his concerns. Last Thursday, Trump tweeted: “I have stated my concerns with Amazon long before the Election. Unlike others, they pay little or no taxes to state & local governments, use our Postal System as their Delivery Boy (causing tremendous loss to the U.S.), and are putting many thousands of retailers out of business!”
The tweet seemed to be a response to an Axios report released Wednesday that cited an unidentified source saying that Trump is “obsessed with Amazon” and is thinking about a change in its tax treatment out of concern over “mom-and-pop retailers.” The company’s CEO is also owner of The Washington Post, which has been editorially critical of the president.
