The Billionaire Class Created Their Own Wealth Tax. It Failed.
In August 2010, as millions of working-class Americans saw their nest eggs destroyed in the wake of the financial crisis and subsequent foreclosure wave, 40 of the country’s wealthiest individuals and couples came together to form a compact. Within their lifetimes, these billionaires swore, they would give away more than half of their wealth. The Bush tax cuts were still a few months away from being extended, and even without that generous giveaway, America’s richest families decided to implement what was effectively a hefty wealth tax on themselves.
Led prominently by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett, the Giving Pledge would account for many billions of dollars in redistribution. “This is about building on a wonderful tradition of philanthropy that will ultimately help the world become a much better place,” said Gates at the time.
The pledge quickly proved highly popular among the world’s rich. In 2015, Mark Zuckerberg, who became a Giving Pledge signatory five years earlier at age 26, decided to up the ante even further, vowing to give away 99 percent of his Facebook shares. Today, the pledge includes 204 of the world’s wealthiest individuals, couples, and families, ranging in age from their 30s to their 90s, spanning 30 states (plus D.C.) and 23 countries.
Yet, despite the world’s best, supposedly brightest, and definitely most well-endowed dedicating their lives to diminishing their colossal holdings, the Giving Pledge has been a near-total failure. Try as they might to spend it down, their dynastic winnings continue to swell, as favorable tax deals, loopholes, and havens have helped balloon their money to unfathomable and unspendable amounts. In the decade the billionaire class has had to effectuate its self-imposed wealth tax, none of the highest-profile signees have even managed to slow the growth rate of their wealth, let alone come anywhere close to cutting the total in half.
Read more: https://prospect.org/power/billionaire-class-created-failed-wealth-tax-giving-pledge/
