Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos has a viral claim from New York-based prediction market platform Polymarket, which stated he advised Gen Z entrepreneurs to start their careers at McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE:MCD) or Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) before launching their own businesses.

“Nope. Not sure why polymarket made this up,” Bezos wrote on X, on Thursday, addressing Polymarket‘s post that accumulated 4.9 million views.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk commented, "Well, the President worked at McDonald’s and now he's the President," referencing Donald Trump's 2024 campaign stop at a Pennsylvania McDonald's, where he manned the French fry station during his successful presidential run.

Polymarket did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comments.

What Bezos Actually Said About Startup Success

Though Bezos worked at a McDonald’s during high school and denied the fabricated Polymarket quote, he has encouraged gaining work experience before launching a business. During a 2024 Italian Tech Week interview, he advised aspiring founders to "go work at a best-practices company" to learn hiring, interviewing, and operational fundamentals.

The Princeton graduate had worked until age 30 before founding Amazon, stating “that extra 10 years of experience actually improved the odds that Amazon would succeed.”

Bezos, who had his dream job as a bartender, has repeatedly emphasized that college dropouts like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates represent exceptions to successful entrepreneurship.

The story got community noted by X users.

Photo Courtesy: Lev Radin on Shutterstock.com

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.