
Jeff Bezos' ex-wife cedes control of Amazon in divorce deal - pseudolus
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-people-bezos/jeff-bezos-ex-wife-cedes-control-of-amazon-in-divorce-deal-idUSKCN1RG2CI
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brational
I know them being the richest couple in the world with a publicly traded
company makes this a special case, but I can't help feeling a little strange
seeing the details of one's personal affairs broadcast in such an
enterprise-y, "update to the people" manner. It feels just as fake as any
other "letter from the CEO" I used to read at a fortune 50.

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freyir
This pertains to their ownership stake in a very large, very public company
that has impacted the lives (and often livelihoods) of almost everybody in the
US, for better or worse.

I don't see what's wrong here. All the articles reprinting the salacious texts
he sent to his girlfriend? That's another story.

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zaroth
Something is terribly wrong when you can slash $30 billion from a person’s net
worth in a single day, and they are still the world’s richest person.

In Amazon’s case it implies monopolistic margins and anti-competitive
exploitation of marketplace dynamics, coupled with dramatically
undercompensating employees for the value they have created in Amazon.

~~~
aeternus
The economy is not a zero-sum game. If you look at the amount of value created
by Amazon, it vastly surpasses that 30 billion.

Amazon has driven down the price of goods substantially and made a huge
variety of products available worldwide. That is of significant value to
society, the price-pressure alone benefits all consumers, especially those
with low incomes.

There are also significant competitors both nationally and internationally
(Walmart & Alibaba) to name a few.

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mantas
Lower prices on Amazon don't happen just because. Somebody didn't earn those
money that they'd otherwise do.

In the end, it's the same society that earned less. Majority of consumers are
providers at the same time. Aside from pensioners and ids.

~~~
aeternus
That's not necessarily true. Amazon may provide cheaper distribution/shipping
thereby reducing the end-user price even though the supplier is paid the same.

Amazon is also increasing the overall reach of each supplier thereby
increasing demand and sales volume.

It also opens up new arbitrage opportunities. For some people, the convenience
of Amazon is worth paying a higher price for certain items. Due to those
consumers, sellers like this can make substantial profit:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzrtdUCsYTQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzrtdUCsYTQ)

The behavior shown in the video is a great example of the 'pie' actually
expanding. The arbitrage seller is creating demand at Walmart and other local
businesses, Amazon is making some profit, and the end-buyer is also better off
since they gained the convenience which they likely value > the original price
+ arbitrage margin.

