Alex Woodward
New York
The combined wealth of American billionaires increased by $2 trillion over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the collective fortunes of the nation’s wealthiest households topped more than $5 trillion.
A report from the Fight Inequality Alliance, Institute for Policy Studies, Oxfam and Patriotic Millionaires found that 3.6 million global households worth more than $5m have a combined wealth of more than $75 trillion.
An annual wealth tax applied to the world’s wealthiest people would raise $2.52 trillion a year – or more than $3.6 trillion a year with a more progressive tax structure – on household wealth over $5m, according to the report.
In the US, an annual wealth tax – with rates at 2 per cent over $5m, 3 per cent over $50m and 5 per cent over $1bn – would raise more than $928bn, the report found. A more progressive annual wealth tax at 10 per cent on wealth over $1bn would raise more than $1.3 trillion.
Such revenue “could raise the government’s health budget by a third or it could eliminate half of US households’ out-of-pocket health costs,” according to the report.
A progressive tax rate on the world’s wealthiest people “would be enough to lift 2.3 billion people out of poverty, make enough vaccines for the whole world, and deliver universal health care and social protection for all the citizens of low and lower middle-income countries,” impacting 3.6 billion people, according to the report.
“Wealth inequality has been supercharged by the pandemic, creating an unprecedented global concentration of wealth and power,” report co-author Chuck Collins with the Institute for Policy Studies and co-author of the report.
“Taxing the world’s wealthiest one-tenth of 1 per cent would raise substantial revenue for public investments in health and social protection and for a greater global response to the most urgent crises of our time,” he said. “During 2021, we witnessed the epidemic of Covid-19 and wealth-hiding, and it’s time to reverse course.”
Nearly half of US adults say it is difficult to afford out-of-pocket health costs not covered by their insurance providers, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Half of all US adults report delaying, skipping or putting off entirely some form of treatment – including regular checkups, dental and vision care, or going to the hospital – because of the cost, and nearly 30 per cent have not taken their medicine within the last year because of the price of prescription drugs, the report found.
In the US, there are nearly 1.5 million people with a net worth of $5m or more, with a total combined wealth of $28 trillion.
US billionaires own half a billion more in wealth than the bottom 60 per cent of the country, the report found.
Topping the list is Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, whose wealth climbed from $24.6bn in 2020 to $294.2bn in November 2021.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who moved to an “executive chairman” role at the retail giant last year, saw his pre-pandemic wealth surge from $113bn to $192 by mid-October.
Microsoft’s Bill Gates grew his wealth by $34.4bn, from $98bn to $132.4bn.
An annual billionaires list compiled by Forbes in 2021 found that the world’s wealthiest people have amassed more than $13 trillion combined, growing by 30 per cent from the previous year.
A vast majority of the hundreds of people on the Forbes list are wealthier today than they were two years ago, at the onset of the global health emergency and an economic fallout that left millions of people jobless in the months that followed and magnified issues of wealth inequality.
In a report published on Monday, Oxfam found that the 10 richest men in the world doubled their fortunes during the pandemic – with their wealth increasing from $700bn to $1.5 trillion between March 2020 and November 2021.
Meanwhile, the incomes of approximately 99 per cent of people around the globe fell during that same time, and more than 160 million people have been forced into poverty, according to Oxfam.
Legislative attempts to raise taxes on the wealthiest American households have languished as Congress mulls Joe Biden’s social spending packages.
One proposal from US Senator Ron Wyden would impact taxpayers with more than $1bn in assets or more than $100m in income for three consecutive years to raise $557m over 10 years.
A majority of Americans believe the nation’s billionaires should pay a wealth tax, according to polling from The Hill-Harris X.
A new joint report from Fight Inequality Alliance, Institute for Policy Studies, Oxfam, and Patriotic Millionaires details what can be funded by simply taxing the rich.
BLOGGING OUR GREAT DIVIDE
JANUARY 18, 2022
by Chuck Collins
Anew analysis, “Taxing Extreme Wealth,” by the Fight Inequality Alliance, Institute for Policy Studies, Oxfam, and Patriotic Millionaires found a shocking rise in global wealth among the world’s richest people despite deepening inequality during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The analysis, “Taxing Extreme Wealth: An annual tax on the world’s multi-millionaires and billionaires: What it would raise and what it could pay for,” published on January 19 by the Fight Inequality Alliance, Institute for Policy Studies, Oxfam, and Patriotic Millionaires found that globally:
3.6 million people have over $5 million in wealth, with a combined wealth of $75.3 trillion, according to data commissioned for this study from Wealth-X.
183,300 households own over $50 million, for a combined wealth of $36.4 trillion, according to Wealth-X data.
There are 2,660 billionaires with a total combined wealth of $13.76 trillion. (Drawn from Forbes on November 30, 2021).
An annual wealth tax applied to the world’s richest would raise U.S. $2.52 trillion a year (with a graduated rate structure: 2 percent tax on wealth over $5 million; 3 percent on wealth over $50 million; 5 percent on wealth over $1 billion.)
A more steeply progressive wealth tax would raise U.S. $3.62 trillion a year (with graduated rates of 2 percent on wealth starting at $5 million; 5 percent on wealth over $50 million; and 10 percent on wealth over $1 billion.)
READ THE REPORT
Taxing Extreme Wealth
An annual tax on the world’s richest would be enough to lift 2.3 billion people out of poverty, make enough vaccines for the whole world, and deliver universal health care and social protection for all the citizens of low and lower middle-income countries (3.6 billion people).
This new global billionaire wealth analysis comes on the heels of a new Oxfam International report based on World Bank data that shows that while 99 percent of the world’s workers earned less money in 2021, the world’s ten wealthiest men more than doubled their fortunes. Meanwhile, global protests around the world are set to coincide with the World Economic Forum’s ‘State of the World’ online meetings.
In the US, roughly 750 U.S. billionaires have seen their wealth increase over $2 trillion since March 2020 for a combined wealth of over $5 trillion, according to previous research by the Americans for Tax Fairness and the Institute for Policy Studies. And there are over 63,500 individuals with wealth over $50 million with combined assets of $12.8 trillion, according to the new report, Taxing Extreme Wealth. An annual wealth tax would raise $928 billion a year, enough to eliminate half of household out-of-pocket health expenses in the U.S.
It is time to levy a wealth tax on the world’s multi-millionaires and billionaires. This is not to simply raise revenue to vaccinate the world and invest in robust public health systems. But a wealth tax that is intended to save democracy from the extreme concentrations of wealth and power.
Chuck Collins directs the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies, where he also co-edits Inequality.org
What could a global tax on wealth of $5 million-plus pay for?
A new study finds that a wealth tax could provide the funding to vaccinate the entire world (just for starters).
Around the world, there are 3.6 million people who each have more than $5 million in wealth. More than 2,600 of those people are billionaires, with a total combined wealth of $13.76 trillion. If there were an annual wealth tax on these individuals, a new report says, it could raise $2.52 trillion a year—enough to lift 2.3 billion people out of poverty, make enough COVID-19 vaccines for the entire world, and deliver universal healthcare and social protection for everyone in low- and lower middle-income countries (3.6 billion people).
That figure comes from a new global wealth analysis using data from a consortium that includes the Fight Inequality Alliance, Institute for Policy Studies, Oxfam, and Patriotic Millionaires. The wealth tax they propose would be a graduated rate structure, the report says, with a 2% tax on wealth of $5 million and above, 3% on $50 million and above, and 5% on $1 billion and above.
A more steeply progressive wealth-tax structure—2%, 5%, and 10%, respectively—would raise $3.62 trillion a year, per the report. In the U.S. alone, there are 1.4 million individuals with a net worth of $5 million or more, for a combined total of $28 trillion. The cost of vaccinating the entire world against COVID-19 has been projected at $27.8 billion; providing universal healthcare and social protections to low- and lower middle-income countries could cost another $440.8 billion.
These overall numbers are just an estimate, the report warns, as actual wealth-taxation levels would be specific to each country. Still, it’s an example of how a wealth tax—an initiative supported by politicians including senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, and increasingly by members of the public (71% of American voters saying they support a tax on extreme wealth)—could raise the money to fund social protections and reduce poverty worldwide.
It would also reduce the total number of multimillionaires and billionaires, the numbers of which have grown exponentially during the pandemic, as wealth inequality has surged. Despite accounting for just 0.002% of the population, those who have $50 million and above currently hold 6.33% of all global wealth. In the U.S., billionaires own half a billion more in wealth than the entire bottom 60% of U.S. society.
This report, which uses data from Forbes and Wealth X, builds on another Oxfam report from earlier this week that found that the world’s 10 wealthiest men (including Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Warren Buffet) have more than doubled their fortunes since the pandemic began.
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PRESS CONTACTS
Olivia Alperstein in the U.S. | olivia@ips-dc.org | +1 (202) 704-9011
Annie Thériault in Peru | annie.theriault@oxfam.org | +51 936 307 990
Sam Quigley in the US| sam@patrioticmillionaires.org | +1 (317)752-9150
Meriame Yassi in the UK | media@fightinequality.org | +44 (0)7944 658488
A new analysis published on January 19 by the Fight Inequality Alliance, Institute for Policy Studies, Oxfam, and Patriotic Millionaires found that globally:
- 3.6 million people have over $5 million in wealth, with a combined wealth of $75.3 trillion. (Wealth-X)
- 183,000 individuals own over $50 million, for a combined wealth of $36.4 trillion. (Wealth-X)
- There are 2,660 billionaires with a total combined wealth of $13.76 trillion. (Forbes, November 30, 2021).
- An annual wealth tax applied to the world’s richest would raise US $2.52 trillion a year (with a graduated rate structure: 2 % tax on wealth over $5 million; 3 % on wealth over $50 million; 5 % on wealth over $1 billion.)
- A more steeply progressive wealth tax would raise US $3.62 trillion a year (with graduated rates of 2 % on wealth starting at $5 million; 5 % on wealth over $50 million; and 10 % on wealth over $1 billion.)
An annual tax on the world’s richest would be enough to lift 2.3 billion people out of poverty, make enough vaccines for the whole world, and deliver universal health care and social protection for all the citizens of low and lower middle-income countries (3.6 billion people).
This new global billionaire wealth analysis comes on the heels of a new Oxfam report based on World Bank data that shows that while 99 percent of the world’s workers earned less money in 2021, the world’s 10 wealthiest men more than doubled their fortunes. Meanwhile, global protests around the world are set to coincide with the World Economic Forum’s ‘State of the World’ online meetings.
This latest rise in global wealth stands in stark contrast to loss of lives and jobs during the pandemic, which has pushed tens of millions more people into poverty and further increased inequalities, particularly in poorer nations around the world.
Read a summary of key highlights from the analysis here.
Key highlights from United States analysis:
- There are 1,436,275 individuals with a net worth of $5 million or more, with wealth totaling $28 trillion.
- There are 63,505 individuals with $50 million or more with a combined wealth of $12.8 trillion.
- Between 2016 and 2021, the number of individuals with wealth over $50 million increased from 37,140 to 63,505 with combined wealth increasing from $8.4 trillion to $12.8 trillion, a gain of 51.84 %, adjusted for inflation.
- There are 740 U.S. billionaires with wealth totaling $5.1 trillion. Throughout the pandemic (beginning in mid-March 2020), the wealth of the U.S. American billionaire class increased $2 trillion.
- The richest billionaire owns more wealth than the bottom 40 % of U.S. society.
- U.S. billionaires own half a billion more in wealth than the bottom 60 % of U.S. society.
- An annual wealth tax in the United States would raise $928.39 billion a year (with rates at 2 % on wealth over $5 million, 3 % on wealth over $50 million and 5 % over $1 billion). This revenue could raise the government’s health budget by a third or it could eliminate half of U.S. households’ out of pocket health costs.
- A more progressive wealth tax would raise $1.34 trillion (with rates at 2 % on wealth over $5 million, 5 % on wealth over $50 million and 10 % over $1 billion).
The five richest people in the United States, as of November 30, 2021, are:
- Elon Musk, $294.2 billion
- Jeff Bezos, $202.6 billion
- Bill Gates, $137.4 billion
- Larry Ellison, $125.7 billion
- Larry Page, $122.8 billion
“The insane reality is that whilst billions face a daily struggle to survive during this pandemic, billionaire wealth is spiraling out of control. This cannot be right, said Jenny Ricks, Global Convenor of the Fight Inequality Alliance. “For years Davos has shown us the elites cannot and will not end the virus of inequality they have helped to create. We now have the rare opportunity to create the economy and society we want but this requires deep system change rather than a rehash of the status quo. That’s why it’s time for wealth taxes on the super rich that could raise an eye watering $2.52 trillion a year globally and pay for a People’s Recovery Plan.”
“Wealth inequality has been supercharged by the pandemic, creating an unprecedented global concentration of wealth and power,” said Chuck Collins of the Institute for Policy Studies and co-author of the report. “Taxing the world’s wealthiest one-tenth of 1 percent would raise substantial revenue for public investments in health and social protection and for a greater global response to the most urgent crises of our time. During 2021, we witnessed the epidemic of COVID-19 and wealth-hiding, and it’s time to reverse course.”
“There is no defending a system that endlessly inflates the wealth of the world’s richest people while condemning billions to easily preventable poverty. We need deep, systemic change, and that starts with taxing rich people like me,” said Morris Pearl of the Patriotic Millionaires.
Spokespeople and lead authors of the report are available for comment or interviews.
To reach IPS experts, contact Olivia Alperstein at olivia@ips-dc.org or +1 (202) 704-9011.
To reach Oxfam experts, contact Annie Thériault at annie.theriault@oxfam.org or +51 936 307 990.
To reach Fight Inequality Alliance experts, contact Meriame Yassi at media@fightinequality.org +44749 44658488
To reach Patriotic Millionaires experts, contact Sam Quigley at sam@patrioticmillionaires.org or +1 (317) 752-9150.
About the Fight Inequality Alliance
Fight Inequality Alliance is a growing global movement organizing to counter the excessive concentration of power and wealth in the hands of a small elite. We are building a just, equal and sustainable world. We unite a wide range of social movements, grassroots and community based organizations, civil society organizations, trade unions, artists and individual activists from across the world.
About the Institute for Policy Studies
For nearly six decades, the Institute for Policy Studies has provided critical research support for major social movements and progressive leaders inside and outside government and on the ground around the United States and the world. As the United States’ oldest progressive multi-issue think tank, IPS turns bold ideas into action through public scholarship and mentorship of the next generation of progressive scholars and activists.
About Oxfam
Oxfam is a global movement of people who are fighting inequality to end poverty and injustice. We are working across regions in about 70 countries, with thousands of partners, and allies, supporting communities to build better lives for themselves, grow resilience and protect lives and livelihoods also in times of crisis.
Because we want lasting solutions, we fight the inequalities that keep people locked in poverty and injustice, we tackle not the symptoms but the systems, and we campaign for genuine, durable change.
About the Patriotic Millionaires
Members of the Patriotic Millionaires are high-net worth Americans, business leaders, and investors who are united in their concern about historic levels of inequality and the destabilizing concentration of wealth and power in America. The mission of The Patriotic Millionaires organization is to build a stable, prosperous, and inclusive nation by promoting public policies based on the “first principles” of equal political representation, a guaranteed living wage for all working citizens, and a fair tax system.
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