Gayle King to Jeff Bezos: Isn't the billionaire space race a 'game of whose is bigger'?

last updated 21 July 2021

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos insists he didn't launch himself into space this week as part of a "game of whose is bigger" with Richard Branson, despite how it might look.

Gayle King spoke with Bezos on CBS This Morning Wednesday after his successful 10-minute trip to space, which came just over a week after his fellow billionaire Richard Branson's space flight. They've both said there's no competition between them, but King didn't appear convinced.

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Bezos promised King it's not, even as King noted that "from the outside looking in," that how it appears, pointing to Branson's announcement of his flight coming not long after Bezos announced his plans. But Bezos insisted "it is not a competition," arguing that when it comes to space, there needs to be a "whole industry" made up of "thousands of companies" that may "compete against each other, but there can be many winners." That line of thinking did seem to win over King, who said after the interview his answer "made a lot of sense."

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

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