Trigger Warning: Jeff Bezos may become richest man in world

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Last week, founder and CEO of Amazon.com Jeff Bezos surpassed Warren Buffet to become the second richest man in the world. His net worth is now estimated to be $75.6 billion dollars. If Amazon continues its upward trend, it won't be long before Bezos surpasses the software giant as the wealthiest man on the planet.

Amazon offers us another lesson in economics, as well. No other major company better demonstrates the brilliance of extending trade. Prior to this revolution, even while products may have been shipped across state lines or imported into the country, consumers were still at the mercy of whatever local retailers were available. Amazon, along with the thousands of other internet stores that followed, effectively extended the reach of the consumer to access more products and better prices where distance would have previously been an impassable roadblock.

Amazon has effectively raised the standards of living for every human being in any country where it has a presence. Even people who do not shop online are able to benefit from the increased competition and pressure to lower prices. Jeff Bezos is now rivaling Bill Gates for the richest man in the world title, but only after decades of making everybody else a little bit richer first.