AOC Claims Billionaires Can't Earn $1 Billion Legitimately, Calls It a 'Myth'

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has once again criticized the wealthiest Americans, asserting that no one can legitimately earn $1 billion. Speaking on Ilana Glazer’s “It’s Open” podcast on May 24, 2024, she argued that extreme wealth accumulation is inherently unearned and often relies on exploiting labor and bending rules.

AOC stated,

“There’s a certain level of wealth and accumulation that is unearned, right. You can’t earn a billion dollars. You just can’t earn that. You can get market power, you can break rules, you can abuse labor laws, you can pay people less than what they’re worth, but you can’t earn that.”

She continued,

“So you have to create a myth that — since you didn’t earn that, you have to create a myth of earning it. So if you’re making minimum wage at a Walmart and you’re making seven bucks an hour. And I mean, dang, with these gas prices, it takes you seven bucks to get to work, so as a result, we’ve kind of internalized this moralized system, right? ‘The people at the top are smarter, better, you know, more sophisticated.’ And therefore, the people at the bottom are uneducated, lazy, etc.”

AOC’s recent criticism has extended beyond billionaires to include former President Donald Trump and his administration. Her latest target was Kash Patel, a former Trump official, following The Atlantic’s report on alleged “erratic” behavior by FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Referring to Patel, she said,

“I mean, I think we saw after the men’s Olympic hockey championships, the fact that this is a guy who is hurling bottles in his face, up in the air. It’s not just embarrassing, it’s a person who’s easily manipulated.”

AOC warned that such behavior, especially in a position like the FBI, could create vulnerabilities:

“If he’s conducting himself in this compromised way in public — especially in a position like the FBI — when you are acting crazy, you are creating opportunities for blackmail.”