On February 26, 2025, Jeff Bezos announced that The Washington Post's opinion section would only publish columns 'in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets,' and that viewpoints opposing those pillars would not be published. Opinion editor David Shipley resigned following the announcement. Former executive editor Marty Baron wrote that Bezos was doing this 'out of fear of the consequences for his other business interests.' Over 75,000 subscribers cancelled within two days. Senator Bernie Sanders called it 'what Oligarch ownership of the media looks like.' The move followed Bezos's October 2024 decision to block the paper's Harris endorsement.
Jeff Bezos attended Trump's second inauguration on January 20, 2025, seated prominently with other tech billionaires behind Trump as he was sworn in. Bezos had previously called Trump in July 2024 to recommend VP candidates and dined at Mar-a-Lago. After the election, Bezos posted congratulations praising Trump's 'extraordinary political comeback.'
reactive
On October 25, 2024, Jeff Bezos killed The Washington Post's planned endorsement of Kamala Harris, overruling the editorial board. The decision led to 200,000+ subscriber cancellations and two columnist resignations. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago the same day. Bezos defended it as 'principled' but critics called it capitulation to Trump.
Under Bezos's leadership, Amazon developed and deployed an extensive employee surveillance system in its warehouses. In January 2024, France's CNIL fined Amazon France Logistique EUR 32 million ($35M) for an 'excessively intrusive' surveillance system that tracked worker scanner inactivity with such precision that employees could be required to justify any break lasting just minutes. U.S. Senators Blumenthal, Booker, Markey, Sanders, and Warren wrote to Bezos warning that Amazon's AI camera surveillance of delivery drivers could 'dramatically decrease Americans' ability to work, move, and assemble in public without being surveilled.' Amazon also faced criticism for its Ring doorbell partnerships with police and its Rekognition facial recognition system sold to law enforcement.
ProPublica's 2021 'Secret IRS Files' investigation revealed that Jeff Bezos paid zero in federal income taxes in 2007 and 2011 despite his fortune growing by billions. In 2011, with wealth of $18 billion, Bezos reported a net loss and claimed a $4,000 child tax credit. His long-term strategy of taking minimal salary ($80,000/year) while borrowing against stock avoided income tax on appreciation. In 2024, when he sold $13.6 billion in Amazon stock, his effective annual tax rate was approximately 2.5%. Between 2006 and 2018, Bezos paid $1.4 billion in federal taxes while his wealth increased by $127 billion.
Under Jeff Bezos's leadership as CEO (through July 2021) and executive chairman, Amazon deployed aggressive tactics to prevent warehouse workers from organizing, including captive audience meetings, anti-union consultants, and surveillance of European warehouse employees. The NLRB ordered a re-run of the 2021 Bessemer, Alabama union vote after finding Amazon improperly interfered. Senators Warren and Sanders wrote to Bezos about Amazon's 'potentially illegal anti-union behavior.' Amazon spent millions on union-busting efforts while workers reported mandatory overtime, intense surveillance, and break-neck production targets.
$10.0B
In February 2020, Jeff Bezos announced a personal $10 billion commitment to the Bezos Earth Fund to fight climate change and protect nature by 2030. The fund has awarded grants to organizations including WWF ($100M), Environmental Defense Fund ($100M), and supports emissions reduction, ocean conservation, food system transformation, and climate justice. By late 2024, approximately $3 billion had been disbursed. Critics note the pace of distribution and potential greenwashing of Amazon's own environmental record.
$2.0B
In September 2018, Jeff Bezos launched the Bezos Day One Fund with a $2 billion commitment split between the Day 1 Families Fund (helping homeless families find permanent housing) and the Day 1 Academies Fund (building tuition-free Montessori-inspired preschools in low-income communities). Since 2018, the Day 1 Families Fund has issued 280+ leadership awards totaling over $850 million to organizations across all 50 states. In December 2025, Bezos donated $11.25 million to fight homelessness in the Washington DC area.