Bezos defends billionaires, hypes AI, praises Trump on CNBC
Ultrabillionaire Jeff Bezos hyped artificial intelligence on Wednesday, blamed government intervention for economic woes and broadly defended himself and his mega-rich peers in an exclusive interview with CNBC.
But Amazon and in his wide-ranging interview with Blue Origin founder Andrew Ross Sorkin, he 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 said when Sorkin was asked about increasing criticism of billionaires at the beginning of the interview. “There’s a group of people in this country who are doing really well, but there’s also a group of people in this country who are struggling.”
He quickly backed the idea of a tax policy reminiscent of what some had said. Democrats They proposed taking working-class voters to court: eliminating income taxes for the bottom half of U.S. earners.
“A nurse in Queens making $75,000 a year pays more than $12,000 a year in taxes,” Bezos said. “Does this really make sense?”
However, Bezos’ alliance with the left did not progress very far.
Bezos condemns ‘smearing’ of the rich
Jeff Bezos speaks to CNBC’s Squawk Box on May 20, 2026 in Merrit Island, Florida.
CNBC
Moments after acknowledging Americans’ financial woes, Bezos, the world’s fourth-richest person, accused politicians of using an “old technique” of “picking the bad guy and pointing fingers.”
“The problem is this doesn’t solve anything,” Bezos said. He later criticized New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani for this attitude. Much-discussed video calling out billionaire Citadel CEO Ken Griffin as he announced the new tax.
“It’s not right for the mayor to stand in front of Ken Griffin’s house and act like he’s some kind of bad guy,” Bezos said. “Ken Griffin is not a villain, he hasn’t hurt anyone, he isn’t hurting New York, quite the opposite in fact.”
Asked whether his proposal to lower taxes on low-income Americans should be matched by higher rates for top earners, Bezos said it was a valid argument but condemned the “slander” that accompanied it.
Arguing that the source of the country’s fiscal problems is not income but overspending, he added, “We already have the most progressive tax system in the world.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who accused him of not paying enough taxes. He rejected many critics such as.
“People sometimes say I don’t pay taxes. It’s not true. I pay billions of dollars in taxes,” he said.
Bezos emphasized that paying her more alone is not the solution: “You can double the taxes I pay and it won’t help the teacher in Queens at all, I promise you.”
Mamdani responded in an X post later Wednesday: “I know a few teachers at Queens who want to disagree.”
Bezos attributed high rental prices to government intervention in the markets. He said corporations and “in some cases wealthy people” had “too much influence over politics”, while also calling for political intervention in unions.
Buy, borrow, reject?
Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos during the Americas Business Forum in Miami, Florida, USA on Thursday, November 6, 2025.
Eva Marie Uzcategui | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Bezos also publicly denied widespread accusations that the richest in society are exploiting a strategy called ” “.“Buy, borrow, die” where they borrow money against their large assets to reduce their tax burden.
“There’s no truth to this ‘buy, borrow, die’ thing. I don’t even know where it came from,” he said. “I routinely sell Amazon stock.”
When Sorkin noted that Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, had received large loans in exchange for his shares, Bezos said, “I’m a little skeptical that this is a real loophole, but if it is, can we fix it? Then we should.”
Still, he stressed that addressing this issue wouldn’t make much of a difference. “That nurse at Queens… this isn’t going to help her at all,” he said.
Bezos’ belief in free market principles has never been clearer than in his rebuke of the growing narrative that billionaires’ vast wealth can never be earned fairly.
“On its face, it’s not true,” Bezos said of that view, which has been espoused by politicians including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
He cited major fast food chains In-N-Out Burger and Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers as examples.
“The way to make $1 billion, $100 million, $10 million or anything is to create a service that people love, and if millions of people choose your service, you end up with a billion dollars,” he said. “Just try it with a chicken franchise.”
Artificial Intelligence OK
Bezos also dismissed fears of layoffs caused by AI, arguing that the technology would increase the number of workers and improve the economy.
“I think these people are completely wrong,” he said of those who oppose artificial intelligence. “What’s actually going to happen is it’s going to lift the morale of all these people.”
He predicted that emerging technology would increase productivity, which would lead to deflation across a range of goods and services – but only “if we allow this technology to emerge and not block it too early with regulations.”
Bezos’ optimism comes as public perception of artificial intelligence has worsened significantly in recent months.
recently Pew Research Center The research found that half of US adults are more concerned than excited about the increasing use of artificial intelligence in daily life. Participants noted the potential harms of AI on creativity and relationships and expressed pessimism about its impact on education and business.
The rapid development of AI data centers spanning hundreds of thousands of square meters has also sparked widespread backlash among those concerned about their impact on the lives of those living nearby.
The rise of AI coding tools from companies like Anthropic and Cursor has also raised fears that they could displace software engineers and programmers. Tech companies are touting the productivity gains from these tools amid broader cost-cutting efforts that have led to mass layoffs.
Bezos argued that AI coding tools are not a threat to software engineers. He said they will help programmers identify and solve problems in their work.
“It’s just that the work will be done at a higher level,” Bezos said. “It will be done with a bulldozer instead of a shovel, and that will be a good thing.”
Bezos sees Trump as ‘more mature’
Bezos tells Sorkin he believes in the President Donald Trump is “a more mature, more disciplined version of himself than he was in his first term.”
“Trump has a lot of good ideas and has done a lot of things; he was right about a lot of things. You have to give him credit where credit is due,” Bezos said.
He did not offer details. Trump’s second-term administration has repeatedly tapped into the free market to support some companies. Intel And Boeing’s To US Steel.
He also rejected accusations that Amazon’s decision to release an expensive documentary about First Lady Melania Trump was an effort to curry favor with the president. “The Melania thing is a lie that won’t die,” he said.
Bezos stated that his efforts are non-partisan and that he has also been in contact with former Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
“We need our business leaders to contribute to the administration, regardless of who the president is,” he said.
“I stand with America,” he added. “This is where business leaders need to be.”
