How Jeff Bezos is capitalizing off of Trump's breakup with Elon Musk
Jeff Bezos, founder of private space company Blue Origin and the Amazon.com, visited the Los Angeles Air Force base, Space and Missile Systems center and spoke to the Commanders and Leaderships of Air Force Space Command at Ft. MacArthur, San Pedro, Calif., Oct 25, 2017
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump and Tesla/SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had a public falling out over Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act." Now, one of the world's richest men is attempting to fill that vacuum by courting his inner circle.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos — who also founded aerospace tech company Blue Origin — has spoken with Trump twice this month, and that the first call came shortly after Trump's breakup with the South African centibillionaire. Bezos also met with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, and extended an invitation to Trump for his opulent wedding to fiancee Lauren Sanchez in Venice (Trump isn't attending, citing scheduling conflicts).
According to the Journal, Bezos' Blue Origin company is hoping to receive preferential treatment for space-related government contracts in his goal to rival Musk's SpaceX. However, Blue Origin has only launched a fraction of rockets compared to SpaceX, which has a goal of 170 launches in 2025 (many of which are for Musk's Starlink satellite internet company).
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SpaceX currently leads the pack in government contracts, having just won a $5.9 billion contract from the U.S. Space Force command for 28 different missions. United Launch Alliance (a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin) garnered slightly less in contracts for 19 missions. And Blue Origin came in a distant third, with just $2.7 billion in contracts for seven missions.
Bezos may also be angling for contracts related to Trump's proposed "Golden Dome" missile defense project, and for any potential Mars-related missions. Trump has also stated a goal of having another crewed mission to the moon before his second term ends in 2029.
The Blue Origin founder has also made other entreaties to Trump in an attempt to build closeness with the administration. Amazon paid First Lady Melania Trump $40 million for exclusive rights to produce a documentary about her, which is expected to premier in theaters and stream on Amazon Prime Video later this year.
Bezos was prominently featured at Trump's second inauguration, seated in close proximity to Trump after donating $1 million to his inauguration fund. And he famously stepped in to kill a Washington Post editorial endorsing then-Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, which led to Trump publicly thanking him.
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Click here to read the Journal's full report (subscription required).
