Bezos defends billionaires, hypes AI, praises Trump on CNBC

Billionaire Jeff Bezos on Wednesday talked about artificial intelligence, blamed government interference for economic problems and defended himself and his wealthiest peers in an exclusive interview with CNBC.

But the Amazon and the founder of Blue Origin, in a wide-ranging interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin, initially had the voice of many people, sometimes sounding more like progressive Democrats than one of the most successful capitalists in history.

“It’s a myth of two economies,” Bezos told Sorkin early in the interview when asked about the growing criticism of billionaires. “You have a lot of people who are doing very well in this country, but you also have a lot of people who are struggling in this country.

He quickly championed a tax policy idea that echoes what some Democrats have proposed to court working-class voters: Eliminating income taxes for the bottom half of US earners.

“A nurse in Queens making $75,000 a year pays more than $12,000 a year in taxes,” Bezos said. “Does that really make sense?”

Bezos’s coalition on the left did not advance, however.

Shortly after acknowledging America’s financial woes, Bezos, the world’s fourth-richest person, accused politicians of using the “classic strategy” of “picking a culprit and pointing fingers.”

“The problem is, that doesn’t solve anything,” Bezos said. He later criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for his much-discussed video of him yelling at Citadel businessman Ken Griffin while introducing a new pied-à-terre tax.

“It’s wrong” for the mayor to “stand in front of Ken Griffin’s house and act like he’s some kind of villain,” Bezos said. “Ken Griffin is not a criminal, he didn’t hurt anyone, he didn’t hurt New York, in fact it’s the opposite.”

Asked whether his proposal to cut taxes for low-income Americans should go hand in hand with higher rates for high-income earners, Bezos said it’s a valid debate to have, but he criticized the “consecration” that comes with it.

“We already have the most progressive tax system in the world,” he added, arguing that overspending, not money, is the cause of the country’s financial problems.

He pushed back many critics, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., whom they accuse of not paying enough taxes.

“Sometimes people say that, you know, I don’t pay taxes. It’s not true. I pay billions of dollars in taxes,” he said.

Making him pay more isn’t the only solution, Bezos insisted: “You can double the taxes I pay, and it won’t help a teacher in Queens, I promise you.”

Mamdani, at the X post, responded later Wednesday, “I know a few teachers in Queens who would beg to differ.”

Bezos went on to blame rising rents on government intervention in the market. And while he said there is “too much political influence” in corporations and “in some cases, rich people,” he also called on unions to intervene in politics.

Bezos has also publicly denied widespread allegations that the nation’s wealthiest are using a strategy called “buy, borrow, die,” in which they borrow money from their largest assets to reduce their tax burden.

There is no truth in this ‘buy, borrow, die’ thing, I don’t even know where this thing comes from,” he said. “I sell Amazon stock all the time.”

When Sorkin noted that Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is taking huge debt against his stock, Bezos said, “I have little doubt that’s really stupid, but if it is, can we fix it? Then we should.”

However, he emphasized that addressing the issue will not make much of a difference. “That nurse from Queens… won’t help him at all,” she said.

Bezos’s belief in the principles of the free market has never been clearer than in his rebuke of the growing story that the vast wealth of billionaires will never be earned properly.

“It’s wrong on its face,” Bezos said of the idea, which is backed by politicians including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y.

He pointed to fast food chains In-N-Out Burger and Raise Cane’s Chicken Fingers as examples.

“The way you make $1 billion, or $100 million or $10 million or whatever, you create a service that people love, and if millions of people choose your service, you’ll end up with billions of dollars,” he said. “Just try it with the chicken franchise.”

Bezos also dismissed fears of job losses caused by artificial intelligence, saying the technology will improve the workforce and boost the economy.

“I think those people are bad,” he said of the AI ​​attackers. “What’s really going to happen is that it’s going to uplift all these people.”

He predicted that emerging technologies will improve productivity, which will lead to a decline in various goods and services – but only if “we let these technologies play and we don’t block them with legislation in advance.”

The optimism from Bezos comes as public opinion on AI has improved significantly in recent months.

A recent Pew Research Center survey found half of US adults are more worried than excited about the increased use of AI in everyday life. Respondents pointed to AI’s potential risks to creativity and relationships and expressed pessimism about its impact on education and work.

The rapid development of AI data centers, which can span hundreds of thousands of square meters, has also sparked a widespread backlash among those concerned about their impacts on the lives of nearby residents.

The rise of AI coding tools from companies like Anthropic and Cursor has also raised fears that they could displace engineers and programmers. Technology companies have reaped productivity gains from these tools amid widespread cost-cutting efforts that have led to layoffs.

Bezos argued that AI coding tools are not a threat to software engineers. He said they will help programmers to identify and solve problems in their work.

It’s just that the work will be done at a high level,” said Bezos. “It will be done with a tractor instead of a shovel, that will be a good thing.”

Bezos told Sorkin that he believes President Donald Trump is “a more mature, more ethical version of himself than when he was first.”

“Trump has a lot of good ideas, and he’s done a lot — he’s been right about a lot of things. You have to give him credit where credit is due,” Bezos said.

He did not provide details. The second Trump administration has repeatedly tapped into the free market to promote certain companies, since Intel again Boeing to US Steel.

He also dismissed allegations that Amazon’s decision to release an expensive documentary on first lady Melania Trump was an attempt to curry favor with the president. “The Melania thing is a lie that won’t die,” he said.

Bezos has characterized his efforts as nonpartisan, noting that he has reached out to former Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

“We need our businessmen to contribute to governance regardless of who the president is,” he said.

“I’m on the American side,” he added. “And that’s where business leaders should be.”