founder of amazon Jeff Bezos Going head-to-head with the mayor of New York City Zoran Mamdani He spoke to CNBC Squawk Box on Wednesday about the city’s record $43 billion education budget and its “tax the rich” agenda.
The billionaire, who has a net worth of $269 billion, according to Forbes, has made no secret of his talk about the city’s mismanaged school system. Mamdani fired back on social media that day, and the exchange quickly became one of the most heated political flashpoints of the week.
Bezos slams New York City school spending; Mamdani replies
Bezos has relentlessly pursued the city’s ballooning education budget. Despite declining enrollment and poor test scores, New York City currently spends $44,000 per student, about 30 percent more than other major U.S. cities. new york post. The Bezos Family Foundation recently pledged $150 million for early childhood education in the city, and Bezos has made it clear that he believes the problem isn’t a lack of money, but how to spend it.
“If we ran Amazon like the New York City school system, it would take six weeks for your package to arrive,” Bezos told CNBC. “We would have to charge you a $100 delivery fee. Then, when the package finally arrives, it will have the wrong items in it anyway.”
He believes the billions of dollars poured into school systems are not reaching those who need them most: teachers themselves. “I guarantee you, none of this money is going to teachers,” Bezos said, according to the New York Post. “If you charge $44,000 per student, how much of that money do you think is going to go to teachers? Not a lot.”
Mamdani quickly clapped back. “I know some teachers in Queens who would disagree,” the mayor wrote on Wednesday afternoon.
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Bezos rejects Mamdani’s billionaire tax push
Bezos also opposed Mamdani’s broader agenda of taxing wealthy New Yorkers. While he said the mayor’s proposed tax on luxury second homes worth more than $5 million is “a good thing for New York,” he firmly rejected the idea that more taxes on billionaires would solve the city’s deeper problems, Fox Business reported.
“You can double the taxes I pay, but it’s not going to help that teacher in Queens,” Bezos told CNBC. “I promise you. If people want me to pay billions more, then let’s have a debate. But don’t pretend that’s going to solve the problem.”
He also defended Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, who was called out by Mamdani in a recent social media video. “Ken Griffin is not a villain. He’s not hurting anyone; he’s not hurting New York. In fact, quite the opposite,” Bezos said, According to Fox Business. He added, “What we’re not going to do is point fingers and point fingers because it doesn’t work. It might feel good for 10 seconds, but it’s not going to have any effect.”
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Bezos calls for zero income tax for low-income Americans
According to Fox Business Channel, Bezos also made a broader argument about the U.S. tax system, saying that the bottom half of income earners, who contribute only 3% of federal taxes, should not pay any tax at all. “When people start struggling, stop taxing them. We don’t need it. We live in the richest country in the world,” he told CNBC. “We shouldn’t be asking this nurse in Queens to send money to Washington. They should apologize to her.”
Reflecting on his family’s humble beginnings, Bezos added, “Maybe one of their kids will be the next Steve Jobs. But we can give them a better chance by eliminating the tax bill. I don’t want to diminish it, I want to eliminate it.”
