• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechDonald Trump

Trump Attacks Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos

By
David Meyer
David Meyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
May 13, 2016, 3:37 AM ET
CHARLESTON, WV - MAY 5: Republican presidential candidate Donal
The Washington Post/Getty Images

Donald Trump thinks Amazon (AMZN) is getting away with paying too little tax, and CEO Jeff Bezos is using the Washington Post as a tool for maintaining that situation.

“Amazon is getting away with murder, tax-wise. [Bezos is] using the Washington Post for power so that the politicians in Washington don’t tax Amazon like they should be taxed,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity.

The accusation came in response to reports that the Post has assembled a team of 20 reporters to dig into Trump’s real-estate past. It also came as Trump faces pressure to publish his own tax returns.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Trump said his team was getting calls from Post reporters every hour “asking ridiculous questions.” He said the reporters were “slopping” together information from bad sources in order to write a book full of “all false stuff.”

“[Bezos has] got a huge antitrust problem because he’s controlling so much. Amazon is controlling so much of what they’re doing,” Trump said, describing Amazon as a “monopoly” and complaining that “the whole system’s rigged.”

Bezos bought the Washington Post in 2013 in a deal valued at $250 million. Trump described this as “practically nothing,” saying Bezos owns the publication “as a toy.”

Amazon decided to unwind its tax-avoidance strategy in the EU last year, following pressure from regulators across the bloc. However, the European Commission’s antitrust department is still investigating Amazon’s tax deals with the duchy of Luxembourg, to see whether they constituted illegal state aid. The U.S. Inland Revenue Service is also investigating those deals.

Women’s rights group UltraViolet recently urged Amazon to stop selling Trump-branded menswear products, due to the presumptive Republican nominee’s racist and sexist behavior.

About the Author
By David Meyer
LinkedIn icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

Latest in Tech

DOJ
Bankingfraud
$1 billion fraud revealed with guilty pleas from subprime auto lender Tricolor
By Larry Neumeister and The Associated PressDecember 17, 2025
2 hours ago
A statue of the Oscars statuette
Arts & EntertainmentYouTube
YouTube is giving the Oscars the lifeline it desperately needs
By Dave SmithDecember 17, 2025
3 hours ago
Ray Dalio attends the Fortune Global Forum Riyadh 2025 on October 27, 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (
Personal FinanceRay Dalio
Ray Dalio donates $75 million to ‘Trump Accounts’ as Scott Bessent leads ‘50 State Challenge’ to invest in America’s kids
By Thalia Beaty and The Associated PressDecember 17, 2025
4 hours ago
AIAmazon
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announces departure of AI exec Rohit Prasad in leadership shake-up
By Sharon GoldmanDecember 17, 2025
5 hours ago
Jeff Bezos attends the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 02, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California.
AIAmazon
Experts say Amazon is playing the long game with its potential $10 billion OpenAI deal: ‘ChatGPT is still seen as the Kleenex of AI’
By Eva RoytburgDecember 17, 2025
5 hours ago
Trump points his finger into the crowd from behind the presidential podium
Big TechSilicon Valley
The Trump administration says it could go after Spotify if Europe doesn’t back off American tech companies
By Dave SmithDecember 17, 2025
8 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
America's $38 trillion national debt 'exacerbates generational imbalances' with Gen Z and millennials paying the price, warns think tank
By Eleanor PringleDecember 16, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
As millions of Gen Zers face unemployment, McDonald's CEO dishes out some tough love career advice for navigating the market: ‘You've got to make things happen for yourself’
By Preston ForeDecember 16, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Innovation
An MIT roboticist who cofounded bankrupt Roomba maker iRobot says Elon Musk's vision of humanoid robot assistants is 'pure fantasy thinking'
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezDecember 16, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
AI
IBM, AWS veteran says 90% of your employees are stuck in first gear with AI, just asking it to ‘write their mean email in a slightly more polite way’
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezDecember 16, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Banking
Trump turns on CBS, Kushner pulls out and Paramount's hostile bid for Warner Bros. shows signs of collapse
By Eva RoytburgDecember 16, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Exclusive: After citations against Elon Musk’s Boring Company were suddenly withdrawn, federal regulators are now investigating Nevada OSHA
By Jessica MathewsDecember 16, 2025
1 day ago

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.