Jeff Bezos Expected to Get Even Richer Thanks to Uber, Even as Company’s Stock Plunges Again

Jeff Bezos knows where to put his money.

Although the price of Uber’s stock has continued to drop since the company first went public on Friday, the Amazon CEO, who was an early investor in Uber, still stands to make a fortune.

The world’s richest man, worth an estimated $157 billion, could earn up to $400 million from the ride-sharing app, CBS News reported on Friday, when the initial public offering stock was priced at $45. According to Wyatt Investment Research, Bezos invested $37 million in the company during their series B fundraising in 2011. (A rep for Bezos did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.)

After Monday’s opening bell, the price of the shares had dipped below $38, representing an 8 percent loss, according to the Associated Press.

Although Uber’s 2018 revenue increased 42 percent to $11.3 billion, the AP reported, the company has said it might not turn a profit in the coming years, and it continues to face competition from Lyft.

CNBC noted that the stock market experienced a sharp dip on Monday, in the wake of China announcing it would raise tariffs on the United States amid the two countries’ ongoing trade war.

RELATED: Ashton Kutcher, Beyoncé & Gwyneth Paltrow Among Stars Who Might Make Big Money on Uber’s IPO

Of course, Bezos isn’t the only famous face who stands to reap the benefits.

Ashton Kutcher, Beyoncé and JAY-Z, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jared Leto, Olivia Munn, Edward Norton and Lance Armstrong have all been linked to the company as shareholders in a recent Forbes report.

Kutcher, 41, was one of the first major celebrities to invest in the ride-sharing app, putting up $500,000 alongside music manager Guy Oseary, 46, in one of the first fundraising rounds back in 2011.

“You’re not even actually taking on the taxi companies — you’re taking on the notion of owning a car,” Kutcher told Forbes in a 2016 cover story. “That’s crazy. And that’s why it has the velocity and potential that it has.” (Kutcher’s rep declined PEOPLE’s request for comment about the IPO, while a rep for Oseary did not immediately respond.)

Asked about her involvement as a shareholder, Munn told PEOPLE in a statement on Thursday, “I still have all of my stake in Uber.”

“I invested in Uber in December 2011 when it was only about 7,000 cars and $1.8 million in net revenue and only in a few cities,” said the actress, 38. “It was the first investment I ever made because it seemed like a no-brainer. Push a button and get a car to show up in minutes? It sounded like a way to revolutionize the idea of having to own your own car, and I think it has.”

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Forbes also reported Paltrow, 46, and JAY-Z, 49 — reps for whom did not immediately return PEOPLE’s requests for comment — confirmed their investments in Uber.

Beyoncé, 37, was paid $6 million in restricted stock units by former Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick, 42, to perform at a company event in Las Vegas in 2015, according to the New York Times.

For Armstrong, a $100,000 investment in Chris Sacca’s firm Lowercase Capital, most of which went to Uber about a decade ago, has proven to be a game-changer.

“It’s saved our family,” Armstrong, 47, told CNBC in December. (Armstrong was banned from the sport of cycling after he admitted to doping in a 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey, costing him millions in endorsements and lawsuit settlements.)

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The news comes amidst a backdrop of Uber drivers striking in protest of the public offering, with some drivers picketing in front of Uber’s San Francisco headquarters.

Uber driver and protester Mostafa Maklad told TechCrunch that the drivers themselves are working under untenable circumstances.

“Uber year after year keeps cutting the rate and how much money they pay to drivers year after year… you have to drive between 70 to 80 hours a week to make even a little less than how much money I used to,” Maklad remarked last week. “They put a lot of stress on us drivers to drive a lot of hours in order to make money. If you don’t, you can’t make money and it’s not going to be worth it.”

Uber’s IPO will offer some drivers bonuses, but protesters say it pales in comparison to the money investors and executives are set to make from the public offering.

“All of us are not happy,” said Maklad, “not just with the award, but with the way they treat drivers.”

“Drivers are at the heart of our service, and we can’t succeed without them,” an Uber spokesperson told PEOPLE. “We’ll continue working to improve drivers’ experience for and with them, every day.”

source https://people.com/human-interest/jeff-bezos-uber-ipo/