Jeff Bezos says society benefits more when his companies do well than when he gives to charity — and Elon Musk agrees

Chris MorrisThu, May 21, 2026 at 6:25 PM UTC

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Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos attend the 2026 Met Gala celebrating

Amazon founder and multibillionaire Jeff Bezos, over the course of his life, has given an estimated $4.7 billion (1) to philanthropic causes. That’s hardly nothing, but it represents a small percentage of his overall net worth, which is currently estimated at around $283 billion (2). In an interview with CNBC, however, Bezos defended his charitable giving, saying society benefits significantly more from the companies he has created.

“If I do my job right, the value to society and civilization from my for-profit companies will be much, much larger than the good that I do with my charitable giving,” Bezos said (3).

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That remark, made as Bezos sat in front of one of his Blue Origin rockets, raised a lot of eyebrows on social media, but one high-profile user stood firmly on Bezos’s side. Elon Musk retweeted the portion of the interview with this quote, adding the comment, “True (4).”

(The Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s Musk Foundation distributed $474 million in charitable donations in 2024, falling short of the 5% minimum annual payout legally required by the IRS for private foundations. The majority of the grants were given to entities controlled by Musk (5).)

A wide-ranging talk

Bezos discussed several topics in his conversation with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin. He dismissed fears about AI taking jobs and said he believes Donald Trump is a “more mature, more disciplined version of himself (6)” in his second term. He also dismissed critics who have accused him of pandering to Trump.

“I’m on the side of America,” he said. “And that’s where business leaders should be.”

Still, it was his comments on wealth that got the most attention. He pushed back on talk that he did not pay enough in taxes, saying, “People sometimes say that, you know, I don’t pay taxes. Not true. I pay billions of dollars in taxes. ... You could double the taxes I pay, and it’s not going to help that teacher in Queens. I promise you.”

(That remark quickly got a reply from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who wrote (7), “I know a few teachers in Queens who would beg to differ.”)

This was in relation to an earlier remark he made backing the policy idea of eliminating taxes for the bottom half of U.S. earners: “A nurse in Queens who makes $75,000 a year pays more than $12,000 a year in taxes. Does that really make sense?”

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But Bezos also accused politicians of utilizing an “age-old technique” of “picking a villain and pointing fingers.” In this case, he said, the villain was the rich.

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Bezos’s charitable giving

Bezos isn’t opposed to giving to charities. He and his current wife, Lauren Sanchez Bezos, have committed $10 billion (1) to the Bezos Earth Fund by 2030; they’ve given $2.4 billion as of February. They also run a series of tuition-free preschools and provide temporary housing for people experiencing homelessness through the Day 1 Families Fund (8).

His giving, though, is just around 2% of his net worth. That pales in comparison to that of his ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, who has given over $26 billion to date to charities. In 2025, she gave away more than anyone on Earth and has donated 46% of her total net worth.

Bezos, in the interview, pointed to the benefits Amazon provided during the pandemic, when people were unable to go to brick and mortar stores and to people who might not be able to leave the house to shop for various reasons today, saying those examples showcase benefits that are wider than any impact he can make with philanthropy.

“I get letters from new mothers all the time saying ‘I have no idea what I would be doing right now if I didn’t have Amazon’,” he said.

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Article Sources

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Forbes (1), (5); Bloomberg (2); Unilad Tech (3); X (4), (7); CNBC (6); Bezos Day One Fund (8)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.

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