Patriotic Millionaires, Fight Inequality Alliance, Tax Justice Network, Greenpeace, and dozens of other groups denounce billionaire Bezos’ takeover of Met Gala

4 May 2026

NEW YORK/AMSTERDAM—Today, more than 30 civil society organizations released an open letter criticizing the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Vogue’s decision to appoint billionaire Jeff Bezos as honorary chair and primary sponsor of this year’s Met Gala. In the letter, coordinated by the Tax the Super Rich Alliance, signatories warn that the US “is in the grip of an oligarchy,” in which a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals exert outsized influence over politics, media, and public life.

Bezos risks turning one of the world’s most influential cultural events into a platform for “artwashing” extreme wealth through cultural prestige at a time of deepening inequality and political division, the organizations say.

Abigail Disney, a member of Patriotic Millionaires, said: “Jeff Bezos chairing the Met Gala is not just about a rich man sponsoring a party; it’s another demonstration of an oblivious, uncaring billionaire throwing his money around without regard for how his fortune has been built on the backs of hard-working, poorly paid people. He can give all he wants to charity but he knows as well as anyone else that he is rich not in spite but because of the hard times almost everyone is enduring.”

Héctor Castañón Reyes, Head of Secretariat at Fight Inequality Alliance, said, “Jeff Bezos represents extremely wealthy people who have decided the rules of democracy don’t apply to them, and who use their money to keep it that way. While he makes more in a couple of hours than a hundred teachers earn in a year, ordinary people around the world are struggling with rising living costs caused by the political choices he supports. Culture should question and challenge power, as the artists working with Fight Inequality Alliance do daily, not launder it.”

The letter comes in the wake of wider protests calling for the Met Gala to be boycotted because of Bezos’ sponsorship amid growing scrutiny of billionaire influence over media, politics, and culture, including Bezos’ ownership of The Washington Post and recent criticism surrounding his high-profile presence in global cultural hubs such as Venice. In recent days, protest posters calling for a boycott of the Met Gala have appeared around Manhattan, organized by activist collective Everyone Hates Elon.

Alex Cobham, chief executive at the Tax Justice Network, said: “There’s a thin line between celebrating glamorous fashion and whitewashing extreme wealth, and that line gets bulldozed when your poster boy is an ICE-profiteering billionaire bankrolling Trump’s vanity projects and a top spender on anti-worker lobbying. From Denmark to Brazil, from the UN tax convention negotiations to the Met Gala red carpet, everybody is coming to see extreme wealth for the harm it is. And the great news is people are starting to do something about it.”

Clara Thompson, Global Lead campaigner Fair Share project at Greenpeace International, said: “We don’t need more billionaires running the show. We need fair taxes on extreme wealth, an end to luxury pollution that’s destroying our planet, and real investment in climate action and nature protection.”

The Met Gala, one of the world’s most high-profile fundraising events for the Costume Institute, is scheduled to take place today in New York. In California, a proposal for a one-time 5% tax on billionaires in the state has received enough signatures to place the measure on the ballot in November, a huge step toward the measure becoming law. This would be another measure joining the growing number of taxes on the super rich being introduced in the US, for example the pied-à-terre tax announced by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

“If the Met is a symbol of freedom, activism and equity, if democracy does indeed die in darkness, Jeff Bezos is the worst conceivable representative for this event and a stark reminder that we need to reel in the power of billionaires before they gobble up our politics, our media and our culture completely,” added Abigail Disney.

Notes to editors:

The full text of the open letter and signatories can be found here.

Interviews are available with spokespeople from the undersigning organizations, as well as the Tax the Super Rich Alliance.

Patriotic Millionaires is part of the Tax the Super Rich (TTSR) Alliance, a diverse global network of 70 organizations working together to demand fair taxation of the super rich to fund solutions for inequality, social justice, and the climate crisis. Launched in 2025, the Alliance brings together world-leading human rights, climate, grassroots, and labor groups—including Fight Inequality Alliance (FIA), Greenpeace, Tax Justice UK, and the Tax Justice Network.

In just 2 hours out at the Met Gala, Bezos will gain as much wealth as 110 NYC teachers will earn in a year. Read the Tax Justice Network’s short analysis on the wealth on show at the Met Gala here.

Contacts:

Valentina Montanaro – Tax The Super Rich Alliance – +351969117660