“Too much money contorts any human being,” said one critic of the Amazon founder.
2 X 0 IS STILL 0
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos speaks at the America Business Forum on November 6, 2025 in Miami, Florida.
Brad Reed
May 20, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos drew ridicule on Wednesday after he claimed that doubling the amount of taxes he pays wouldn’t be beneficial to society.
During an interview on CNBC, journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin asked Bezos about arguments made by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) that the super-rich have lower effective tax rates than average Americans given how much of their wealth comes from unrealized capital gains and not traditional income earned through actual labor.
“I pay billions of dollars in taxes,” replied Bezos, whom Forbes estimates is worth $267 billion. “If people want me to pay billions more, then let’s have that debate. But don’t pretend, you know, that that’s going to solve the problem. You could double the taxes I pay, and it’s not gonna help that teacher in Queens, I promise you.”
A 2021 investigation by Pro Publica found that Bezos’ effective tax rate of less than 1% between 2014 and 2018, as he paid a total of $973 million in taxes over a period in which his net worth grew by $99 billion.
As explained by the Institute of Taxation and Policy (ITEP), this effective tax rate was “significantly lower” than the tax rate paid by middle-class Americans over that period.
“There were multiple years where Bezos paid nothing at all in income taxes,” ITEP noted. “While having billions of dollars of wealth, Bezos consistently avoided income tax by offsetting earned income with other investment losses and various deductions, all while Amazon stock was rapidly rising.”
Democratic congressional candidate Melat Kiros in Colorado suggested Bezos had a point about taxation—“because we tax income, not wealth.
“Bezos takes out a tiny salary, pays the income tax, and lives off loans borrowed against his stocks, basically tax-free,” said Kiros. “They all do this and now 935 billionaires hold more wealth than 170 million Americans. It’s time to tax wealth.”
Melanie D’Arrigo, executive director of the Campaign for New York Health, took issue with Bezos’ claim that doubling his taxes would produce no benefits.
“Jeff Bezos paid $500 million for his super-yacht and $75 million for his super-yacht’s mini-yacht—both of which he’s allowed to write off on his taxes,” she wrote in a social media post. “That alone would cover $180 in classroom supplies for every public school teacher in the US.”
Craig Harrington, research director at Media Matters for America, marveled at how out of touch Bezos seemed to be.
“There’s a funny thing about being uber wealthy,” he observed. “They get so rich that they lose all sense of place, they essentially manifest as stateless people with no connection to or understanding of the world outside their private airports and resplendent villas.”
Journalist and screenwriter David Simon expressed a similar view of the impact of immense wealth on Bezos’ psyche.
“Too much money contorts any human being,” Simon wrote. “And what was once a man is now, for the rest of the world, a fully metastasized cancer.”
Author Hemant Mehta, meanwhile, simply wondered if Bezos “auditioning to be the next Bond villain.”
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos speaks at the America Business Forum on November 6, 2025 in Miami, Florida.
Brad Reed
May 20, 2026
COMMON DREAMS
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos drew ridicule on Wednesday after he claimed that doubling the amount of taxes he pays wouldn’t be beneficial to society.
During an interview on CNBC, journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin asked Bezos about arguments made by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) that the super-rich have lower effective tax rates than average Americans given how much of their wealth comes from unrealized capital gains and not traditional income earned through actual labor.
“I pay billions of dollars in taxes,” replied Bezos, whom Forbes estimates is worth $267 billion. “If people want me to pay billions more, then let’s have that debate. But don’t pretend, you know, that that’s going to solve the problem. You could double the taxes I pay, and it’s not gonna help that teacher in Queens, I promise you.”
A 2021 investigation by Pro Publica found that Bezos’ effective tax rate of less than 1% between 2014 and 2018, as he paid a total of $973 million in taxes over a period in which his net worth grew by $99 billion.
As explained by the Institute of Taxation and Policy (ITEP), this effective tax rate was “significantly lower” than the tax rate paid by middle-class Americans over that period.
“There were multiple years where Bezos paid nothing at all in income taxes,” ITEP noted. “While having billions of dollars of wealth, Bezos consistently avoided income tax by offsetting earned income with other investment losses and various deductions, all while Amazon stock was rapidly rising.”
Democratic congressional candidate Melat Kiros in Colorado suggested Bezos had a point about taxation—“because we tax income, not wealth.
“Bezos takes out a tiny salary, pays the income tax, and lives off loans borrowed against his stocks, basically tax-free,” said Kiros. “They all do this and now 935 billionaires hold more wealth than 170 million Americans. It’s time to tax wealth.”
Melanie D’Arrigo, executive director of the Campaign for New York Health, took issue with Bezos’ claim that doubling his taxes would produce no benefits.
“Jeff Bezos paid $500 million for his super-yacht and $75 million for his super-yacht’s mini-yacht—both of which he’s allowed to write off on his taxes,” she wrote in a social media post. “That alone would cover $180 in classroom supplies for every public school teacher in the US.”
Craig Harrington, research director at Media Matters for America, marveled at how out of touch Bezos seemed to be.
“There’s a funny thing about being uber wealthy,” he observed. “They get so rich that they lose all sense of place, they essentially manifest as stateless people with no connection to or understanding of the world outside their private airports and resplendent villas.”
Journalist and screenwriter David Simon expressed a similar view of the impact of immense wealth on Bezos’ psyche.
“Too much money contorts any human being,” Simon wrote. “And what was once a man is now, for the rest of the world, a fully metastasized cancer.”
Author Hemant Mehta, meanwhile, simply wondered if Bezos “auditioning to be the next Bond villain.”
CNN panel comes unglued over Jeff Bezos's tax plan: 'What are you talking about?'
Robert Davis
May 20, 2026
Robert Davis
May 20, 2026
RAW STORY
CNN screenshot
The panel on CNN's "NewsNight" came unglued on Wednesday while discussing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's tax plan, which he shared with CNBC earlier that day.
In an interview with Aaron Ross Sorkin, Bezos claimed that the bottom percentile of workers should pay no income tax. He said that the plan would benefit more middle-income earners, like a nurse in Queens, New York, than economic plans put forward by Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist mayor of New York City, to increase taxes on the wealthy.
“You could double the taxes I pay, and it’s not going to help that teacher in Queens,” Bezos claimed.
Bezos's idea set off a firestorm on CNN.
Arthur Aidala, a criminal defense attorney, claimed that Bezos was right that increasing taxes on the wealthy would be detrimental to the middle class. He argued that increasing taxes could cause wealthy people to flee certain areas for low-tax havens.
Aidala also claimed that Mamdani was about to "ruin the economy" in New York by raising taxes on the wealthy, a claim that didn't sit well with other panelists.
"What set of facts do you have to back that up?" Charles Blow, a political journalist, shot back.
Aidala claimed that Citadel Capital CEO Ken Griffin's recent comments about Mamdani putting people like him in danger were one example. Noah Rothman, a writer for the National Review, argued that Florida's population growth shows how Mamdani's tax plan has made the wealthy leave New York City.
"Not everybody in Florida is moving from New York," Blow countered. "So I want to know ... What are your numbers?"
Host Jessica Dean attempted to intervene, but the conversation got more heated from there.
Aidala wouldn't say where he got his data from, which led Blow to attack further.
"We can't just do this whole thing like, 'I know a guy,'" Blow said. "You have no data."
Blow held up a chart showing that millionaires continue to move to New York City despite Mamdani's policies.
"What are you talking about?" Blow said to Aidala.
CNN screenshot
The panel on CNN's "NewsNight" came unglued on Wednesday while discussing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's tax plan, which he shared with CNBC earlier that day.
In an interview with Aaron Ross Sorkin, Bezos claimed that the bottom percentile of workers should pay no income tax. He said that the plan would benefit more middle-income earners, like a nurse in Queens, New York, than economic plans put forward by Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist mayor of New York City, to increase taxes on the wealthy.
“You could double the taxes I pay, and it’s not going to help that teacher in Queens,” Bezos claimed.
Bezos's idea set off a firestorm on CNN.
Arthur Aidala, a criminal defense attorney, claimed that Bezos was right that increasing taxes on the wealthy would be detrimental to the middle class. He argued that increasing taxes could cause wealthy people to flee certain areas for low-tax havens.
Aidala also claimed that Mamdani was about to "ruin the economy" in New York by raising taxes on the wealthy, a claim that didn't sit well with other panelists.
"What set of facts do you have to back that up?" Charles Blow, a political journalist, shot back.
Aidala claimed that Citadel Capital CEO Ken Griffin's recent comments about Mamdani putting people like him in danger were one example. Noah Rothman, a writer for the National Review, argued that Florida's population growth shows how Mamdani's tax plan has made the wealthy leave New York City.
"Not everybody in Florida is moving from New York," Blow countered. "So I want to know ... What are your numbers?"
Host Jessica Dean attempted to intervene, but the conversation got more heated from there.
Aidala wouldn't say where he got his data from, which led Blow to attack further.
"We can't just do this whole thing like, 'I know a guy,'" Blow said. "You have no data."
Blow held up a chart showing that millionaires continue to move to New York City despite Mamdani's policies.
"What are you talking about?" Blow said to Aidala.
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