Elizabeth Warren’s Bezos Met Gala jab backfires as critics mercilessly drag ‘un-American’ lawmaker Senator Elizabeth Warren faced significant backlash for suggesting Jeff Bezos should pay more taxes, linking it to his sponsorship of the Met Gala. Critics argued that Warren’s past actions, such as blocking JetBlue’s acquisition of Spirit Airlines, were more detrimental to jobs than Bezos’ tax contributions. The debate also touched upon the nature of wealth taxes and whether billionaires could simply relocate to avoid them.

• Sen. Elizabeth Warren criticized Jeff Bezos for sponsoring the Met Gala, stating he should pay more in taxes.
• Critics, including venture capitalist Mike Solana, accused Warren of misrepresenting facts and linked her actions to the demise of Spirit Airlines.
• Commentators suggested that if Warren hadn’t blocked JetBlue’s acquisition of Spirit Airlines on anti-trust grounds, the airline might have survived.
• Spirit Airlines’ folding is estimated to have resulted in the loss of approximately 15,000 direct and 2,000 indirect jobs.
• Some reports estimate Bezos paid nearly $3 billion in taxes in 2024 and had donated significant stock to charity.
• Warren has proposed a wealth tax targeting households with net worths above $1 billion.
• Critics argued that Warren’s wealth tax is ‘confiscatory’ and ‘un-American,’ and that billionaires could leave the country to avoid it.