Amazon founder Jeff Bezos reportedly told then-President-elect Donald Trump that purchasing The Washington Post was his “worst investment” during a private dinner in December 2024, according to a forthcoming book by journalists Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman.
The claim appears in “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump,” which details interactions between Trump and some of America’s most influential business leaders during the presidential transition.
According to an excerpt obtained by The California Post, Bezos expressed frustration with the newspaper’s management after the publication reportedly lost more than $100 million that year.
“The people there are terrible,” Bezos allegedly told Trump while discussing the paper’s business operations.
The authors wrote that Bezos contrasted the newspaper’s leadership with executives at his other ventures, suggesting managers at the Post were not following his direction.
“They don’t listen. My other companies, they listen,” Bezos reportedly said.
Trump, a longtime critic of The Washington Post’s coverage of him, used the dinner to air his own grievances with the newspaper.
“This Washington Post is really unfair. You’ve got to take better care,” Trump reportedly told Bezos.
According to Swan and Haberman, the two men found unexpected common ground in their shared frustration with the paper, though their complaints stemmed from different concerns.
“Bezos commiserated with Trump over their December dinner, indicating that he, too, was deeply frustrated with the Post, though for a different reason,” the authors wrote.
Trump later told the authors that during his first term, he believed Bezos was personally directing the newspaper’s coverage.
“He said they write stories about him. And I didn’t believe him the first time, first term. And I hated him for it,” Trump said. “And then I believed him.”
The book also claims Bezos told Trump that owning the newspaper had strained some personal relationships. According to the authors, Bezos later acknowledged that people close to him had encouraged him to sell the publication.
The reported conversation came months before Bezos authorized significant staff reductions and broader changes at The Washington Post as the newspaper grappled with financial losses and declining readership.
More over at The New York Post:
Jeff Bezos told Trump the Washington Post was his worst investment before slashing staff: 'People there are terrible' https://t.co/IuoYGIth6g pic.twitter.com/jDfCTWmHSc
— New York Post (@nypost) June 17, 2026
