Jeff Bezos legally minimizes his federal income taxes by primarily holding his wealth in Amazon stock rather than receiving a high salary. Because tax laws tax realized gains (sold stock) rather than unrealized appreciation, he only pays significant taxes when he sells shares, allowing him to avoid taxes in years he holds his assets.
In some years, billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and George Soros paid no federal income taxes at all. Billionaires avoid these taxes by taking out special ultra-low-interest loans available only to them and using their assets as collateral.
Bezos didn't pay any federal taxes in 2007 and 2011, per ProPublica reporting on leaked tax returns, and likely paid little in 2022 and 2023, two years when he didn't sell any Amazon shares.
In fact, the list of billionaires paying $0 in income tax reads like a who's-who of the world's most famous executives. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, for example, are the two wealthiest people in the world, according to the Forbes Billionaires' List.
Yes, Jeff Bezos famously kept his Amazon base salary at around $80,000 per year for decades, choosing to take most of his compensation through stock options, which grew immensely as the company succeeded, making him one of the world's wealthiest individuals without a high executive paycheck. He felt he had enough incentive as a major owner and preferred building wealth by increasing the value of his existing equity rather than taking more salary or bonuses.
Yes, Elon Musk pays taxes, but his payments vary significantly year-to-year, often coming in large bursts when he sells Tesla stock to realize gains from stock options, as seen with his reported $11 billion federal tax bill for 2021, a massive payment triggered by stock option exercises, contrasting with other years where he's paid little to no federal income tax due to holding appreciating stock, according to reports from Americans For Tax Fairness (2021), ABC7 (2021), ProPublica (2021), and CNBC (2021). His wealth, primarily tied to stock, isn't taxed until shares are sold, meaning he can have huge wealth growth with little income tax in certain years, but triggers massive tax bills when exercising options or selling shares, as detailed in reports from Americans For Tax Fairness (undated), CNN (2022), and The Guardian (2021).
“Tesla: The company has used mechanisms like deferred tax assets, research and development credits, and massive deductions from Elon Musk's stock-based compensation to reduce its U.S. federal income tax to near zero in profitable years.”
Jeff Bezos reflects on his approach to compensation during his tenure at Amazon, revealing his decision to maintain a modest annual salary of around $80,000 and saying no to additional equity grants.
Jeff Bezos's 1-Hour Rule is a morning routine focused on avoiding screens (phones, laptops) for the first hour of the day, allowing for slow, deliberate activities like reading, having coffee, exercising, or spending time with family, which he claims enhances focus, energy, and decision-making, a practice supported by neuroscience for promoting clearer thinking and reducing digital fatigue.
The name Jeff Bezos is synonymous with Amazon and as a multi-billionaire. Although he's one of the richest people in the world, he's only paid himself a salary of $80,000 for around 20 years, according to the New York Times.
Under the proposal, for instance, a billionaire cannot transfer wealth or incur a debt to their children to reduce liability, cannot escape wealth taxation by transferring property to a trust, and cannot work around limits on such transfers by selling assets for less than market value.
“I'm the largest individual tax payer in history. I pay over $10 billion in tax." — Elon Musk says.
Tesla paid $0 in federal income tax last year. 2022: $0 2021: $0 2020: $0 2019: $0 2018: $0 Tesla reported $6.7 billion in profit in those years.
There are several ways to reduce tax bills and pay no taxes legally, and one of the easiest ways is to take full advantage of a self-employment tax deduction scheme. In the US, this deduction allows you to deduct a portion of your self-employed income from your taxable profit, provided there are allowable expenses.
Jeff Bezos graduated from Princeton University in 1986 with a 4.2 GPA in electrical engineering and computer science, graduating summa cum laude and earning memberships in honor societies like Phi Beta Kappa and Tau Beta Pi.