Jeff Bezos slammed for ‘tone-deaf’ comment, Bernie Sanders demands he pay income tax
Amazon customers and workers slammed Billionaire Jeff Bezos for a tone-deaf comment in a press conference following his brief space flight Tuesday in which he thanked "every Amazon employee and every Amazon customer because you guys paid for all this."
"So seriously, for every Amazon customer out there, and every Amazon employee, thank you from the bottom of my heart, very much. It's very appreciated," the multi-billionaire added.
His comment was not received well by the low wage workers. He got slammed on Twitter with people saying how absurd the comment is!
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Bezos has previously been accused of not paying his fair share of taxes, while Amazon has been criticized for its treatment of employees, notably during the coronavirus outbreak.
Meanwhile, among other lawmakers, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders chastised Bezos for not paying income tax, while New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasted his victory lap.
Bezos, who stepped down as Amazon CEO in July, successfully flew to space Tuesday with his company Blue Origin on the first crewed flight aboard the New Shepard rocket, reported the Daily Mail.
During the 10-minute journey, Bezos became the wealthiest man in space, while Wally Funk became the oldest crew member and Oliver Daemen became the youngest.
Bezos has stated that he paid for Blue Origin by selling $1 billion in Amazon stock each year.
Sanders chastised the billionaire for squandering his fortune on space travel rather than adequately compensating his employees on Earth.
"Am I supposed to be impressed that a billionaire went to space while he's paid zero in federal income taxes some years and the workers at his company struggle to afford their medical bills, rent, and food for their kids?" the Vermont senator tweeted.
"Nope. It's time to invest in working people here on Earth."
