Jeff Bezos rejected accusations that Amazon's decision to release a documentary on first lady Melania Trump was an effort to curry favor with the president.
Ultrabillionaire Jeff Bezos on Wednesday hyped artificial intelligence, blamed government meddling for economic woes and broadly defended himself and his mega-rich peers in an exclusive interview with CNBC.
But the Amazon and Blue Origin founder, in a wide-ranging interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin, initially struck a populist tone, at times sounding more like some progressive Democrats than one of the most successful capitalists in history.
"It's kind of a tale of two economies," Bezos told Sorkin at the start of the interview when asked about growing criticism toward billionaires. "You have a bunch of people in this country who are doing really well, but you also have a bunch of people in this country who are struggling." He quickly backed a tax-policy idea that echoes what some Democrats have put forward to court working-class voters: Eliminating income taxes for the bottom half of U.S. earners.
"A nurse in Queens who makes $75,000 a year pays more than $12,000 a year in taxes," Bezos said. "Does that really make sense?" Bezos' alliance with the left didn't extend much further, however.
Right after acknowledging Americans' financial struggles, Bezos, the world's fourth-richest person, accused politicians of employing an "age-old technique" of "picking a villain and pointing fingers." "The problem is, that doesn't solve anything," Bezos said. He later criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over his much-discussed video calling out billionaire Citadel CEO Ken Griffin while unveiling a new pied-à-terre tax.
"It isn't right" for the mayor to "stand in front of Ken Griffin's house and act like he is some kind of villain," Bezos said. "Ken Griffin isn't a villain, he hasn't hurt anybody, he's not hurting New York, in fact quite the opposite." Asked whether his proposal to cut lower-income Americans' taxes should coincide with higher rates for top earners, Bezos said it's a valid debate to have, but decried "the vilification" that accompanies it.
"We already have the most progressive tax system in the world," he added, arguing that overspending, not revenue, is the source of the country's fiscal problems.
He pushed back on the many critics, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who accuse him of not paying enough in taxes.
"People sometimes say that, you know, I don't pay taxes. Not true. I pay billions of dollars in taxes," he said.
Making him pay more is no solution on its own, Bezos insisted: "You could double the taxes I pay, and it's not going to help that teacher in Queens, I promise you." Mamdani, in an X post, responded later Wednesday, "I know a few teachers in Queens who would beg to differ." Bezos went on to blame high rent prices on government intervention in markets. And while he said there's "way too much influence in politics" from corporations and "in some cases, wealthy people," he also called out unions for political interference.
Bezos also flatly denied widespread accusations that the richest in society exploit a strategy dubbed "buy, borrow, die," in which they borrow money against their large assets to lower their tax burden.
"There's no truth to this 'buy, borrow, die' thing. I don't even know where this comes from," he said. "I'm selling Amazon stock routinely." When Sorkin noted that Elon Musk, the world's richest man, takes out large loans against his stock, Bezos said, "I'm a little skeptical that that's a true loophole, but if it is, can we fix it? Then we should." Still, he stressed that addressing that issue still wouldn't make much difference. "That nurse in Queens ... it's not going to help her at all," he said.
Bezos' belief in free-market principles was never clearer than in his rebuke of a growing narrative that billionaires' vast wealth can never be earned fairly.
"It's not correct on its face," Bezos said of that view, which has been espoused by politicians including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
He pointed to major fast-food chains In-N-Out Burger and Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers as examples.
"The way the way you make $1 billion, or $100 million or $10 million or anything, is you create a service that people love, and if millions of people choose your service, you're going to end up with a billion dollars," he said. "Just try it with a chicken franchise." Bezos also dismissed fears of artificial intelligence-fueled job displacement, arguing that the technology will augment workers and improve the economy.
"I think those people are dead wrong," he said of AI's naysayers. "What's really going to happen is that it's going to elevate all of these people." He predicted that the nascent technology will boost productivity, resulting in deflation across a range of goods and services — but only if "we let this technology play out and don't hamstring it with regulation too early." The optimism from Bezos comes as public perception of AI has significantly worsened in recent months.
A recent Pew Research Center survey found half of U.S. adults are more concerned than excited about the increased use of AI in daily life. Respondents pointed to the potential harms of AI on creativity and relationships and expressed pessimism about its impact on education and jobs.
Rapid development of AI data centers, which can span hundreds of thousands of square feet, have also sparked widespread backlash among those concerned about their impacts on nearby residents' lives.
The rise of AI coding tools from companies like Anthropic and Cursor have also spurred fears that they could displace software engineers and programmers. Tech companies have touted productivity gains from these tools amid broader cost-cutting efforts that have led to mass layoffs.
Bezos argued that AI coding tools aren't a threat to software engineers. He said they'll help programmers identify and solve problems in their work.
"It's just that the work is going to be done at a higher level," Bezos said. "It's going to be done with a bulldozer instead of a shovel, and that's going to be a good thing." Bezos told Sorkin he believes President Donald Trump is a "more mature, more disciplined version of himself than he was in his first term." "Trump has lots of good ideas, and he has done a lot of — he's been right about a lot of things. You have to give him credit where credit is due," Bezos said.
He did not offer specifics. Trump's second-term administration has repeatedly waded into the free market to boost certain companies, ranging from Intel and Boeing to U.S. Steel.
He also rejected accusations that Amazon's decision to release a pricey documentary on first lady Melania Trump was an effort to curry favor with the president. "The Melania thing is a falsehood that will not die," he said.
Bezos framed his efforts as nonpartisan, noting that he has also been in touch with Democratic former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
"We need our business leaders to provide input into the administration, regardless of who the president is," he said.
"I'm on the side of America," he added. "And that's where business leaders should be." Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.
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