Jeff Bezos Compares Amazon Operations to New York City Schools

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said during a May 20 CNBC interview that operating Amazon the way New York City runs its school system would produce six-week delivery times, a $100 fee, and frequent errors. "If we ran Amazon the way New York City runs their school system," Bezos stated, "your packages would take six weeks to arrive.

We'd have to charge you a $100 delivery fee. " The comments occurred while Bezos discussed taxes, government spending, and operational performance.

City public schools spend roughly $44,000 per student annually, among the highest figures nationally. Bezos said doubling his taxes would not improve outcomes for a teacher in Queens. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani responded on X that some Queens teachers would disagree.

Bezos described Amazon as customer-obsessed during his time as chief executive. The company built systems for fast, accurate delivery that became central to its model. Bezos said the school-system comparison illustrated what happens when large organizations lose focus on execution while costs rise.