Bezos' comments on workers after spaceflight draws rebuke

The world’s richest man wanted to say thanks to the people who made his brief trip into space Tuesday possible

NEW YORK -- The world's richest man wanted to say thanks to the people who made his brief trip into space Tuesday possible. But for some, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' expression of gratitude went over like a lead rocket. “I want to thank every Amazon employee, and every Amazon customer because you guys paid for all this,” the 57-year-old Bezos said during a news conference Tuesday after becoming the second billionaire in just over a week to ride in his own spacecraft. Bezos built Amazon into a shopping and entertainment behemoth but has faced increasing activism within his own workforce and stepped up pressure from critics to improve working conditions.