More than 100 demonstrators gathered outside Jeff Bezos' Washington, DC, mansion on Thursday and constructed a guillotine outside his front door to protest Amazon workers' wages.
The protest came the day after Bezos' net worth surpassed $200 billion, making him the richest person in history, according to Forbes. His wealth has grown by about $85 billion since January, boosted by Amazon's soaring revenue amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
A video posted to Twitter by a Washington Examiner reporter shows former Amazon warehouse worker Christian Smalls, an outspoken Amazon critic, calling on the company to raise its minimum wage from $15 per hour to $30 per hour in light of Bezos' surging wealth. The protest was led by the Congress of Essential Workers, a group founded by Smalls.
"Give a good reason why we don't deserve a $30 minimum wage when this man makes $4,000 a second," Smalls said.
It's not clear whether the protesters' guillotine had a real blade or was functional. The Congress of Essential Workers did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
An Amazon spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request to comment.
Protesters set up a guillotine outside Jeff Bezos' mansion and demanded higher wages for Amazon workers after the CEO's net worth surpassed $200 billion
The protest came the day after Bezos' net worth exceeded $200 billion for the first time, making him one of the richest people in history.
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