Coordinated by the Tax the Super-Rich Alliance, this press release marks the public launch of the open letter signed by more than 30 civil society organisations criticising the Met Gala’s decision to make Jeff Bezos honorary chair and primary sponsor. Spokespeople from Patriotic Millionaires, Fight Inequality Alliance, the Tax Justice Network and Greenpeace International warn that Bezos risks turning one of the world’s most influential cultural events into a platform for “artwashing” extreme wealth at a moment of deepening inequality and political division. The release situates the action within a wider wave of public pushback against billionaire influence — from the protest posters that appeared across Manhattan in the run-up to the Gala, to a California ballot measure proposing a one-time 5% tax on billionaires, to the pied-à-terre tax announced by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul. The message running through it: the tide is turning on extreme wealth, and culture should challenge power, not launder it.