Jeff Bezos blasted New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday over the city’s massive education budget, arguing that the public school system spends enormous sums while delivering poor results.
During an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” with Andrew Ross Sorkin, Bezos mocked the efficiency of the city’s school system, saying Amazon customers would revolt if his company operated the same way.
“If we ran Amazon the way New York City runs their school system – your packages would take six weeks to arrive,” the Amazon honcho told Andrew Ross Sorkin during a sit-down on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“We’d have to charge you a $100 delivery fee. And then when the package did finally arrive, it’d have the wrong item in it anyway.”
Bezos directed much of his criticism at the city’s record-breaking education expenditures, pointing to New York’s estimated $43 billion school budget and claiming the city spends roughly $44,000 per student — far above the levels seen in many other major American cities — despite declining enrollment and disappointing academic performance.
The sharp criticism comes as the Bezos family has simultaneously pledged major charitable funding toward early childhood education efforts in New York City.
The billionaire businessman argued that increased government spending is not meaningfully benefiting teachers, but instead disappearing into layers of administrative bureaucracy.
“None of this money is getting to the teachers, I promise you,” he stressed.
“If you’re charging $44,000 per student, how much of that money do you think is trickling down to teachers? Not much.”
Bezos also defended his own tax contributions while criticizing Mamdani’s push for higher taxes on wealthy residents, including proposals targeting luxury second homes that have drawn backlash from affluent property owners and business leaders.
The Amazon founder argued that even substantially increasing his own taxes would not meaningfully improve conditions for teachers or working families.
The Blue Origin founder insisted that the 34-year-old failed rapper-turned-mayor could jack up the billions Bezos already forks over in taxes and it still wouldn’t help “that teacher in Queens.”
Mamdani responded publicly on social media later Wednesday.
“I know a few teachers in Queens who would beg to differ,” Mamdani snapped on X.
City Hall did not immediately respond to additional requests for comment.
Bezos further argued that simply taxing wealthy Americans more heavily and pouring additional money into struggling systems will not solve underlying problems.
“What’s happening here is politicians are using the kind of age-old techniques … you know, picking a villain and pointing fingers,” he said, calling the fiscal mess a “tale of two economies.”
“But the problem is that doesn’t solve anything. And so like, if you want to help the group of people who are struggling, you have to figure out real root causes and solutions. And that takes skill.”
Describing Amazon’s internal management philosophy, Bezos said executives at the company rely on a method known as “the five whys” to identify deeper causes behind operational problems.
“What we don’t do, because it doesn’t work, is just point fingers and blame people,” he added after Mamdani singled out billionaire Ken Griffin.
“It might feel good for 10 seconds, but it doesn’t accomplish anything.”
The public clash unfolded as the Bezos Family Foundation expands its involvement in New York education initiatives. The family recently pledged up to $150 million toward early childhood education programs in the city while Mamdani continues promoting his universal free childcare agenda.
Last week, anti-poverty organization Robin Hood Foundation launched a $1 billion endowment effort anchored by a $100 million Bezos family contribution that will establish the Jackie Bezos Endowment for Early Childhood.
The Bezos family also committed an additional $25 million contingent on matching contributions, potentially bringing the total donation to $150 million in honor of Bezos’ late mother.
The donation further strengthens Robin Hood’s role in the city’s growing debate over affordable childcare and anti-poverty programs. The organization has already invested roughly $3 billion in poverty-related initiatives throughout New York City.
Meanwhile, Mamdani is reportedly attempting to raise $20 million for a separate childcare action fund through the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, though reports indicate only about $3.5 million has been raised so far.
During the CNBC interview, Bezos also advocated broader changes to the federal tax structure, arguing that lower-income Americans should not be paying taxes at all.
He noted that the wealthiest 1% of taxpayers currently account for roughly 40% of all federal tax revenue while the bottom half contribute approximately 3%.
He said it shouldn’t be 3%, but instead “zero.”
“When people are starting out and they’re struggling, stop taxing them. We don’t need it. We live in the wealthiest country in the world,” Bezos told CNBC.
Bezos also reflected on his family background while discussing economic opportunity in America. He described how his adoptive father immigrated from Cuba during the 1960s and how his mother gave birth to him as a teenager in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“I look at that and I think, I want to make sure that the people that are struggling today have a chance to do that too, to bring themselves up and maybe they’re gonna be the next Steve Jobs,” said Bezos, 62, who serves as executive chairman of Amazon, the country’s largest parcel carrier.
“Maybe one of their kids will be the next Steve Jobs, I don’t know. But we can give them a better chance by eliminating their tax bill. And I don’t want to reduce it, I want to eliminate it.
{Matzav.com}
