3 Reasons Jeff Bezos Is a Fan of President Trump’s Economic Agenda
Written by
Heather Altamirano
Edited by
Amber Barkley
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President Donald Trump and Jeff Bezos have had a long history of being at odds. The two have swapped plenty of jabs at each other, but things are much different now. After Trump was reelected, Bezos — who has a net worth of over $220 billion, according to Forbes — said he was “hopeful” about the president returning to the White House.
“I’m very hopeful — he seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation,” Bezos said on stage during the New York Times’ DealBook Summit. He added, “And my point of view is, if I can help him do that, I’m going to help him, because we do have too much regulation in this country.”
Why the change in tune? Bezos said he believes the president has “grown” over the last few years since his first time in office. “What I’ve seen so far is he is calmer than he was the first time — more confident, more settled.”
However, some of Trump’s policies could play a factor in Bezos’ optimism about the next four years. Here are three ways Bezos could benefit from the president’s economic agenda.
Ease of Big Tech and AI Regulations
Former President Joe Biden took aggressive steps to regulate big tech, including filing a lawsuit against Apple for an alleged monopoly over the smartphone market, ABC News reported. However, it’s anticipated that Trump could be softer on AI and big tech mergers and acquisitions, which would benefit Bezos, who is shifting his focus to AI, CNBC reported.
“The ability for Amazon to acquire companies will likely be unlocked, coming off an anti-big tech administration,” explained John Rossman, former Amazon executive, keynote speaker and advisor, author of “The Amazon Way” and founding partner at Rossman Partners.
He added, “Much of the big tech M&A [mergers and acquisitions] activity was curtailed with prior administration. With the goal of winning in AI and a change in the Securities and Exchange Commission, the policy changes, now M&A activity will pick up. Guess what this will trigger? More VC [venture capital] investment.”
Corporate Tax Breaks
Another big win for Bezos in Trump’s first term was tax cuts for corporations, which the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities stated was “skewed to the rich.”
This economic policy gives companies a boost and leverage over others, and it could be renewed.
“As a business owner, I can see exactly how Trump’s economic agenda could benefit someone like Jeff Bezos, despite their past,” said Danny Ray, founder of PinnacleQuote.
“Trump’s focus on corporate tax cuts is a major win for big business. In fact, lowering the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% during his first term gave companies like Amazon more room to reinvest or increase profits,” Ray explained. “If Trump pushes further tax relief, Bezos stands to gain even more.”
Labor and Environmental Deregulation Policies
During Trump’s first term, he eased many environmental regulations and has plans to roll back even more, The New York Times reported, which would help businesses like Amazon, according to Ray.
“Trump’s policies on deregulation could ease restrictions on Amazon’s logistics and supply chains, possibly cutting costs,” he explained. “For example, rolling back certain labor or environmental regulations could streamline operations for Amazon warehouses. Over all, a pro-business environment with fewer roadblocks helps giants like Amazon thrive.”
For years, Trump and Bezos made headlines for their rocky relationship, but the president’s economic stance could line up with Bezos’ interests now.
Editor’s note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
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