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Bezos Dismisses 'Buy Borrow Die' Tax Strategy as Largely Fictional

Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos challenged a controversial wealth management strategy Wednesday, calling it overblown. The so-called 'buy, borrow, die' approach involves wealthy investors pledging assets as collateral for loans to avoid income taxes, then passing appreciated holdings to heirs tax-free upon death. Bezos said the strategy lacks factual basis and questioned its prevalence among the wealthy. The practice has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers including Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden, who have proposed wealth taxes to address it. Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has pledged more than $30 billion in stock as loan collateral, while Tesla's Elon Musk has similarly leveraged company shares. Bezos stated he pays taxes when selling Amazon shares to fund Blue Origin and other ventures, positioning himself as tax-compliant despite his substantial net worth.