In 2011, Jeff Bezos, the billionaire CEO of Amazon, paid nothing in federal income taxes. That same year, when his net worth was valued at around $18

When Jeff Bezos was worth $18 billion, he claimed a $4,000 tax credit intended for families earning less than $100,000, ProPublica reports

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2021-06-10 20:30:05

In 2011, Jeff Bezos, the billionaire CEO of Amazon, paid nothing in federal income taxes. That same year, when his net worth was valued at around $18 billion, he filed for and received a $4,000 tax credit for his children, ProPublica reported.

The outlet obtained confidential tax documents filed with the Internal Revenue Service. It disclosed the information in a new report on some of the world's wealthiest people. ProPublica did not publish its source data or disclose how the information was obtained.

In 2007, and again in 2011, Bezos paid nothing in federal income taxes because he lost more money investing than he earned from other income, the report said. He made so little in 2011, according to the US government tax code, that he was able to file for and receive a tax credit of $1,000 per child — households with over $100,000 in joint income weren't eligible to receive the credit.

As a result, despite being a billionaire many times over in 2011, Bezos was able to receive a $4,000 credit from the federal government. That's because Bezos' net worth is largely tied to stock, which does not affect an individual's tax bracket until shares are sold and that revenue is reported as income.

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