Billionaire Jeff Bezos’ $25k blunder

Jeff Bezos received almost $25,000 in parking tickets while renovating his Washington D.C mansion. Source: Getty

Jeff Bezos’ net worth is around $184 billion, so it’s no wonder the billionaire Amazon founder didn’t bat an eyelid when he copped US$16,840 (AU$25,000) worth of parking fines in the space of three years.

But how exactly did he do it?

Bezos forked out a whopping US$23 million in 2016 for what used to be the Textile Museum in Washington D.C, and laid down a US$12 million plan to turn it into his private residence.

Records obtained from the D.C Department of Public Works revealed that, between October 2016 (when Bezos purchased the home) and October 2019 (when renovation works wound down), the city issued 564 parking fines - 93 of which were handed out in April 2018 alone.

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The fines were handed out in the 2200 and 2300 blocks of the street, directly outside of the mansion, WUSA90 reported.

But while $25,000 might impact the average worker, it’s but a drop in the ocean for the billionaire.

In fact, while $25,000 in fines would be around 38 per cent of the average Australian’s salary, that amount equates to around 0.000014 per cent of Bezos’ overall net worth.

Jeff Bezos slammed for bushfire donation

It’s not the first time Bezos’ wealth has dwarfed his expenses.

Earlier this year, Bezos’ announcement that Amazon would donate $1 million to Australian bushfire relief was met with criticism, given his enormous capacity.

“Jeff Bezos makes $149,340 a minute. So he is effectively donating 4.6 minutes of money. If he donated what he makes in a day, that would be $215 million, which would still not be enough,” one Twitter used observed.

“This feels like the equivalent of me donating a $5 dollar bill I found in a pair of jeans,” another added.

Another noted it was the equivalent of a median net worth American donating 63 cents.

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