Inherent in the vocabulary one uses to talk about this pandemic are the complaints and allegations assumed by the speaker. I’ve found that since the beginning of this outbreak, few friends, neighbors, or colleagues have chosen to place much or any blame upon the profiteers of this pandemic – and would much rather assign blame to a place in China they’d not even heard of a year ago or upon the slow-armed response of bureaucracy. But whether you call it the “China Virus,” coronavirus, or COVID-19, one thing can be certain: This pandemic is benefitting Big Tech in an unprecedented way. Whichever way you dice it, whether it be profiteering, exploitation, or plain old economic resilience, no other company’s stock market value has benefited more from the coronavirus pandemic than Amazon.com.

While a nation of dutiful citizens pledged their avoidance of public gatherings, an equally dutiful nation of Prime Members demonstrated their fondness for fast shipping and free streaming. Our earnest devotion to “flattening the curve” has, whether we like it or not, dramatically sharpened the ascending curve of Amazon’s stock value. At the same time Jeff Bezos has emerged from his Alexa-obsessed lair and reclaimed his spot as “day-to-day manager.” Despite his new position’s monotonous-sounding tone, a post-COVID world has proven all but mundane for Jeff.

As unemployment soars to a rate of almost 15% and the country reels from the effects of a deadly virus, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index has marked Bezos and his brainchild as immune, seeing as he is one of the few billionaires to have seen an increase to his net worth since the beginning of 2020. But neither Great Depression-like numbers nor nearly 90,000 dead will stop him from beating himself and setting a new record for the world’s richest man: His new projections are simply unfathomable.

Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic the Amazon CEO and entrepreneur, Jeff Bezos, has grown his already vast fortune by at least $24 billion, thus inflating his net worth to an approximate $146 billion. As President Trump floundered for a way to make sure America had enough hamburgers and hot dogs to grill for the congregations of “packed churches” to munch on after Easter gatherings – I’m sorry, I meant enough to grill in time for the virus to “go away” by Memorial Day – Jeff Bezos is perhaps hoping that the economy remains closed. Why? Because Bezos and all of Amazon’s shareholders know, that as long as it is more of a pain to line up outside your favorite retail store due to what’s been dubbed “coronavirus crowd control” or smell your own breath whilst donning a homemade mask, Amazon’s will continue to reign supreme, as it lures new customers in with its patented “1-Click” technology, quick shipping, and free streaming. As long as clicking is easier than waiting in line, or getting dirty looks for walking in the wrong direction at Trader Joe’s, Bezos and Amazon will continue chanting in unmovable meditation: “get big fast… get big fast…” all while crestfallen Americans lay prostrate, awaiting delayed stimulus checks due to the fact that a megalomaniac needed to print his John Hancock on it.

Although some believe that Jeff’s sleek new trillion dollar projection is just a bunch of malarkey, I’d argue that Bezos’ unprecedented growth and subsequent wealth projections, along with Amazon’s hegemonic domination of the retail market, combined with an ever-increasing aura of incompetence resonating behind the Resolute Desk or within the Rose Garden represent a greater injustice to the American people. In times of national distress and emergency, profiteering and exploitation must be thoroughly squelched. As echoes of a wheezing and confused nation burn forth with every exhaustingly predictable news cycle, the little resiliency which shines forth must be shared and enjoyed. If we fail to use this nationwide shut down as an inflection point by which we can make real a paradigm shift which prioritizes the ultra-wealthy’s accountability to the disproportionally affected poor and sick, then I am afraid that Big Tech will inevitably become Biggest Tech and play the lead role in the most egregious widening of wealth inequality this country has known in over fifty years.

I hope that the dramatics between the visible policy makers, and visible capitalists will put aside their differences in hopes of establishing new procedures by which Big Tech and other platform owning firms operate. Ensuring the future of the traditional eye-contact economy and using governmental leverage to ensure a checked expansion of e-commerce and tech economy will help set the stage for a more equitable post-COVID world. Rarely do we as a people get the chance to go back to the drawing board or hit pause and restart. This opportunity is unique and unlikely to arise again, so no matter what you call the virus, or who you blame – be it China, Trump, Fauci, or Gates(?), accusation without action is frivolous. A necessary pivot needs to be made whereby relevant policy makers and stakeholders demonstrate increased scrutiny of the few who are demonstrating economic “resilience” and profiting from this pandemic.

Anthony Edwards is senior at Hunter College pursuing a double major in Religion and Chinese Language and Literature along with a minor in Public Policy. This fall he will begin study at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies as a master’s candidate in Nanjing, China. A recipient of a Boren Scholarship and graduate of the Language Flagship Program, Anthony hopes to go on and serve as a Sino-Global professional who can help foster mutual understanding between China and the U.S.