Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has reignited a debate over taxation and government efficiency after arguing that higher taxes on billionaires would do little to solve deeper structural problems in public institutions.
Speaking in an interview with CNBC, Bezos used New York City’s school system to illustrate his point. “If Amazon was run the way New York City’s public school system was run, your packages would take weeks to arrive,” he said. Bezos argued that simply collecting more tax revenue would not automatically improve public services. “You could double the taxes I pay, and it’s not going to help that teacher in Queens,” he added.
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The comments drew support from Canadian billionaire investor and “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, who praised Bezos’ criticism of government inefficiency.
“I loved what he said. We should get more Bezoses, many more of them, and put them in charge of running a place like New York which is an absolute mess,” O’Leary told CNN.
O’Leary argued that taxing billionaires more heavily would not address underlying problems and could discourage entrepreneurship and investment. According to him, wealthy individuals already contribute significantly through investments, business creation and job generation, while government waste remains a bigger concern.
Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, however, strongly disagreed with Bezos’ remarks and accused the billionaire of being disconnected from the struggles of ordinary Americans.
“I was amazed, there wasn’t even a hint of humility and understanding of just how difficult the lives of average American working people are and how he could do a lot to help,” de Blasio said. He also described Bezos as “entirely out of touch.”
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The exchange comes as New York lawmakers recently approved a new luxury home tax targeting high-value second residences. While Bezos reportedly described the measure as “fine,” he maintained that such taxes would not solve broader fiscal challenges. O’Leary was more critical, calling the policy “sheer blind stupidity” and warning it could discourage investment.
Separately, Bezos has also pushed back against fears that artificial intelligence will eliminate jobs. Speaking at the VivaTech conference in Paris alongside Blue Origin CEO David Limp, he said: “I know there’s a lot of concern that many people have, including many smart people, that AI is going to make humans redundant. I totally disagree with this point of view. And I think, in fact, AI is going to create a labour shortage.”
