Jeff Bezos may become the world’s first trillionaire. The Amazon founder’s net worth grew by an average of 34 percent over the last five years, and according to a recent analysis, he is on track to reach trillionaire status by 2026.

The nauseating news arrived amid a pandemic that has thrown millions out of work and sent unemployment skyrocketing to rates rivaling those of the Great Depression. Bezos has long been the richest man on the planet, but the fact that he continues to pile up interminable mounds of money, Scrooge McDuck style, during such an intense economic downturn, exposes anew the depravities of our economic system. For one person to be so obscenely wealthy while so many people are barely hanging on is not just disturbing and immoral, it is an attack on democratic principles and the ability for everyone to live a dignified life.

Amazon, which employs nearly 1 million people worldwide, is the second-largest private employer in the United States. While the company brags about the way it treats its employees — a $15 minimum wage, “comprehensive health care,” paid time off — Amazon workers tell a much different story. From tech workers to warehouse workers, Jeff Bezos’s employees have been ringing alarm bells about both their working conditions and the company’s wider practices.