Upon its founding in 1994, Amazon was an online bookstore operated out of his own garage. The company went public three years later, riding the wave of the newly-founded internet. He later expanded the company to include other merchandise and goods, where it slowly but surely transformed into the Amazon we know and love. In 2000, Bezos founded Blue Origin, which promised to put average human beings into space. Blue Origin, despite not being super widely known, is actually doing quite well with successful flights to and from space holding 'dummy' passengers. Bezos also acquired The Washington Post in 2013 for a mere $250M (in cash, no less). Throughout his career, he has acquired many companies and startups in the quest to ever-expand Amazon. Some notable ones include Whole Foods, Goodreads, Ring(the electronic doorbell company), IMDb, Zappos, Twitch, Audible, and numerous others.
So what is he doing with all that money? Not paying taxes! And thus getting richer! Amazon payed $0 in federal tax dollars in 2019. It is estimated that if they did pay taxes, Amazon would pay roughly $6 billion dollars per year. Which is actually very small, considering the amount they make every year. This would be the equivalent of the average person paying $475 per year compared to their net worth. But literally why does anyone need this much money? What can you buy that is worth more than single-handedly ending homelessness in the US, which Bezos could do, by the way. What could you have that is worth more than your own humanity?
I think it's hard to be ethical when you are literally the richest person alive and who has ever lived. So, personally, I think it's good that no one clapped for him at the Oscars on Sunday because he doesn't deserve it.
Jeff Bezos is a self-made man he works and has worked for everything he has he was born with practically nothing and the beautiful thing about America is that the government doesn't get to decide your morals for you. If he wants to spend his money on companies he can, if he wants to spend it on charity he can, because we live in a free country where people are able to spend there Capital where they want. As well on the issue of homelessness, just giving people money does not solve drug addiction or mental illness which are two of the most common causes of homelessness. So I don't think it is just as simple as having the income to give to people so that they can stop being homeless. That's like treating symptoms of a cold rather than the cold itself. so I believe Jeff Bezos is entitled to his wealth because he made it and for that I respect him.
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