Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., reignited her long-standing crusade against the ultra-wealthy Thursday, arguing that billionaires do not legitimately “earn” their fortunes but instead rely on a “myth” to justify their status.
Appearing on comedian Ilana Glazer’s podcast, “It’s Open,” the prominent “Squad” member suggested that the very existence of a ten-figure net worth is a policy failure rather than a personal achievement.
“You can’t earn a billion dollars,” Ocasio-Cortez told Glazer. “You can get market power. You can break rules. You can do all sorts of things. You can abuse labor laws. You can pay people less than what they’re worth. But you can’t earn that, right? And so you have to create a myth… you have to create a myth of earning it.”
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The New York Democrat’s remarks are a continuation of the rhetoric that propelled her to national stardom in 2018. During the interview, she framed economic insecurity not as a result of individual choices, but as a byproduct of a system that forces working-class Americans to internalize financial hardship.
“It’s not that Walmart pays less than a living wage,” Ocasio-Cortez said, mimicking the mindset she believes is forced upon the public. “It’s that I’m poor and I didn’t work hard enough, so I didn’t earn a better station in my life.”
She further tied the wealth gap to the country’s current cultural divisions, suggesting that economic anxiety is being redirected toward marginalized groups.
“In an era of extreme income inequality, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this xenophobia and anti-immigrant feeling is happening at the same time,” she said.
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Throughout the interview, Ocasio-Cortez repeatedly anchored her socialist-leaning worldview in her upbringing as a working-class Puerto Rican in New York. She recalled her experience as a bartender and waitress—a “bootstrap” narrative she uses to contrast with the “corporate myths” she critiques.
“My mom cleaned houses growing up,” she said. “My dad was born in the South Bronx.”
Reflecting on her father’s death during the 2008 economic collapse, she noted that her family “did everything right” but was still nearly ruined by the system. “We could have done everything that they said… and you can get sideswiped and there is nothing here to really support you.”
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The congresswoman’s office did not immediately respond to a request for further comment on whether she believes any private sector industry allows for the “legitimate” accumulation of a billion dollars.
When reached for comment, AOC’s office pointed Fox News Digital to an X post from the congresswoman.
“The single largest form of theft in America is wage theft. $50 billion a year are stolen from American workers,” she wrote. “Some people get enraged that I draw attention to this. That’s on them. Let them call me shrill, dumb, inexperienced, girly, uneducated – these folks will say anything to distract from or undercut the truth that working people are getting screwed, and giving people a fair shake means we must have a grown conversation about reigning in abuse of power.”
