The real exposé here would be to know how Bezos paid for the Yacht. Did he pay cash? Was it financed (unsecured, or secured by the boat itself)? Was it finance

The real exposé here would be to know how Bezos paid for the Yacht. Did he pay cash? Was it financed (unsecured, or secured by the boat itself)? Was it financed secured by Amazon stock? Was it purchased by a business? Was there any sort of sales tax/VAT? When people recoil at a frivolous expense of this size they do so for two reasons. The first is that it seems "wasteful". To that, I say "whatever." The second is this idea that Bezos is not paying his fair share, and that a 500MM frivolous purchase is a symbol of that. And that question is one that can be answered. If Bezos paid for the yacht in cash, then in a way there was some capital gains tax associated with it. Same if there was VAT/sales tax. Sure, let him buy a 500MM yacht if it means $15MM in tax for whatever country levied it. There is a real problem with unfair taxation in the US/world, and if the average person doesn't understand how the ultra, ultra, ultra rich actually spend their money, we're doomed to enact legislation that falls short of improving the taxation scheme.