Jeff Bezos

How the Saudis Made Jeff Bezos Public Enemy No. 1

May 7, 2019 · 8:07 am ET · Leave a Comment

“It sounded almost like a conspiracy theory when Jeff Bezos not-so-subtly hinted that there might be a Saudi connection to the attempt to strong-arm him with his ‘below the belt selfies,'” the Daily Beast reports.

“But there’s mounting evidence that the de facto ruler of the kingdom has been trying to punish Bezos for the fierce coverage by his newspaper, The Washington Post, of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. This effort began months prior to the aggressive approach by the National Enquirer’s parent company.”

What Happened to Amazon In New York

February 25, 2019 · 8:00 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Barry Ritholtz: “Before we determine who killed Amazon’s HQ2, let’s note who did not: It was not the progressives or the Anti-ICE lefties. No, the Socialists have not taken over America. The biggest opponent to Amazon HQ2 in NYC was not from the new Congressional class, all they did was make some noise, and little to do with what actually mattered. It was not, to the chagrin of Fox News, AOC or Elizabeth Warren, or anyone else in Congress. All of the incentives for this were State + City, not Federal. Congress literally had no say on this.”

“Spoiler alert: It was Jeff Bezos. He belatedly realized the political landscape had changed, and decided he was unwilling to engage further. He did not want to deal with it or be embarrassed. Full stop.”

Bezos Investigator Thinks Government Entity Involved

February 8, 2019 · 9:19 am ET · Leave a Comment

A reporter at the Washington Post says that an investigator hired by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos believes that text messages leaked to the National Enquirer between Bezos and his girlfriend may have been sent to the magazine by someone in government, The Hill reports.

Said Manuel Roig-Franzia: “They have begun to believe, the Bezos camp, that this publication by the National Enquirer might have been politically motivated. Gavin de Becker told us that he does not believe that Jeff Bezos’s phone was hacked, he thinks it’s possible that a government entity might have gotten hold of his text messages.”

Jeff Bezos Wins the Trump Era

February 4, 2019 · 1:54 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“Two years into Donald Trump’s presidency, the man who has profited most from the era is his foremost nemesis in the business world, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos,” Bloomberg reports.

“Trump has repeatedly vilified Bezos, threatening his company with tax increases, antitrust prosecution and higher shipping fees, attacking the Bezos-owned Washington Post as a ‘scam’ and even mocking the billionaire for his pending divorce. No figure in corporate America is attacked more often in Trump’s Twitter posts.”

“Yet no one has made more money than Bezos since Trump’s election. The president’s social-media huffing and puffing hasn’t hurt a solidly constructed business riding the rise of electronic commerce, web advertising and cloud computing.”

Bezos Makes First Major Political Donation

September 5, 2018 · 7:05 am ET · Leave a Comment

“Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife are making their first major foray into politics with a $10 million contribution to a super PAC that aims to elect military veterans to Congress,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

The Honor Fund PAC is backing 33 House candidates now running—19 Democrats and 14 Republicans. It does “no screening for ideology,” but rather seeks out a “common bond of service and commitment to the country.”

Trump Pushed Postmaster to Double Rates on Amazon

May 18, 2018 · 1:53 pm ET · Leave a Comment

“President Trump has personally pushed U.S. Postmaster General Megan Brennan to double the rate the Postal Service charges Amazon.com and other firms to ship packages… a dramatic move that probably would cost these companies billions of dollars,” the Washington Post reports.

“Brennan has so far resisted Trump’s demand, explaining in multiple conversations occurring this year and last that these arrangements are bound by contracts and must be reviewed by a regulatory commission… She has told the president that the Amazon relationship is beneficial for the Postal Service and gave him a set of slides that showed the variety of companies, in addition to Amazon, that also partner for deliveries.”

Bezos Ignores Trump’s Tweets

April 9, 2018 · 2:39 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Wall Street Journal: “Mr. Bezos, the world’s richest man, has ignored the president’s attacks. He has stayed out of the public eye since Mr. Trump’s tweets started last week, only tweeting once to send condolences regarding the recent shooting at YouTube’s headquarters.”

“Mr. Bezos made comments critical of Mr. Trump before the election, but he has refrained from public criticism since Mr. Trump was elected. That strategy, people familiar with this thinking say, fits in with his deeply held conviction in playing the long game.”

“Mr. Bezos has long tread carefully when it comes to politics. The chief executive has made calculated public donations, like one for so-called Dreamer scholarships in January. He tweets rarely and chooses to speak publicly only on occasion. His last major public interview was granted to his brother on stage at a conference in November.”

Trump’s War on Jeff Bezos Is More Than Just Bluster

April 4, 2018 · 12:29 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Edward Luce: “Those who think Mr Trump acts solely on impulse are not paying attention. He is doing what populists always do. They target independent media. In some cases, such as in Victor Orban’s Hungary, they direct state advertising to friendly outlets. In Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey, they hound independents with tax raids. Regulatory intimidation also works. Mr Trump keeps telling the world he intends to use such tools. We keep downplaying the risk. This is America, after all. Such things do not happen.”

“Yet they already have. Ponder this Ohio State University study. It found that voters who switched from Barack Obama in 2012 to Mr Trump in 2016 were influenced by three fake stories: Hillary Clinton was suffering from poor health; Pope Francis had endorsed Mr Trump; and Mrs Clinton had sold arms to Isis terrorists. All were essentially false. Together they may have tipped the election, says the report. Mr Trump is using his powers to ensure more Americans consume more stories like these. It helped elect him once. Why wouldn’t he press the advantage?”

Trump Wants to Take Down Jeff Bezos

April 2, 2018 · 9:32 pm ET · Leave a Comment

Vanity Fair: “For the first time in Donald Trump’s presidency, the West Wing soap opera appears to be in hiatus, with many of its starring characters (Gary Cohn, Hope Hicks) either permanently offstage or with much reduced roles (John Kelly, Jared Kushner). Currently, there’s one star—a situation Trump is obviously enjoying—and his new freedom is used to focus ever more closely on his perceived enemies and obsessions. Amazon, whose owner, Jeff Bezos, also owns The Washington Post, is currently the main target.”

“Now, according to four sources close to the White House, Trump is discussing ways to escalate his Twitter attacks on Amazon to further damage the company.”

Said one source: “He’s off the hook on this. It’s war. He gets obsessed with something, and now he’s obsessed with Bezos. Trump is like, how can I fuck with him?”

New York Times: “People close to the president have said critical articles in The Post often trigger his public musings about Amazon.”