Bezos Backs 0% Taxes for Bottom Half, Defends Billionaires and AI as He Praises Trump
Updated
Updated · CNBC · May 20
Bezos Backs 0% Taxes for Bottom Half, Defends Billionaires and AI as He Praises Trump
9 articles · Updated · CNBC · May 20
Jeff Bezos used a CNBC interview to argue the bottom half of U.S. earners should pay no income tax, saying a Queens nurse making $75,000 now pays more than $12,000 a year.
The Amazon founder said the U.S. has a spending problem, not a revenue problem, rejected claims that taxing him more would help workers, and denied using a "buy, borrow, die" strategy.
Bezos also defended wealthy Americans against political "vilification," criticizing New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani's attacks on Citadel's Ken Griffin; Mamdani replied that Queens teachers would disagree.
On AI, Bezos said the technology will raise productivity, lower prices and augment jobs rather than replace them, while warning against early regulation despite rising public concern and backlash over data centers.
He also called Donald Trump a more disciplined version of his first-term self, while insisting Amazon's Melania Trump documentary was not an attempt to curry favor.
Can the US fix its 'tale of two economies' by cutting worker taxes, or must it first tackle untaxed billionaire wealth?
As states see billionaires flee wealth taxes, is cutting taxes for workers the only viable path to economic relief?