The World's Billionaires Keep Getting Richer, But What Does This Mean for Democracy? | DW News

Aug 28, 2026 | Billionaires are richer than ever. Their combined wealth has exploded from less than one trillion dollars in 2000 to more than 20 trillion dollars today. But alongside that rise in wealth comes a growing debate over power, influence and democracy.

DW reporter Tomi Oladipo speaks with economist Professor Paul Segal, who argues that today's ultra-wealthy have access to technologies, media platforms and political networks that give them unprecedented influence over society. He says growing inequality is reshaping economies and raising questions about who really benefits from economic growth.

We also meet German entrepreneur Sebastian Klein, who gave away 90 percent of his personal fortune after concluding that extreme wealth concentration threatens democracy. As billionaire fortunes continue to grow and calls for higher wealth taxes gain momentum, the discussion explores whether extreme wealth and democratic equality can coexist, and what governments can do to address a widening gap between the richest citizens and everyone else.

The UK Survey Result That Has USA Big Tech Worried

Jul 4, 2026 | Two-thirds of the British public want the government to tax the American tech giants MORE. Donald Trump has responded by threatening a 100% tariff on everything Britain sells to the US unless we scrap our Digital Services Tax. In this video I take a proper look at the DST: what it actually is, why the "it'll put up prices for consumers" argument is a con job cooked up by the tech lobby, and why Trump's tariff threats deserve to be laughed out of the room.

Tucker Carlson Blows Up at Rutger Bregman in Unaired Fox News Interview | NowThis

Feb 20, 2019 | Fox News refused to air this full interview with historian Rutger Bregman after Fox News host Tucker Carlson lost his temper, calling his guest a 'tiny brain...moron' during the interview.

During the Rutger Bregman interview, host Tucker Carlson goes off on Bregman, calling his guest a 'tiny brain...moron.' NowThis has obtained the full segment of the unaired interview with historian Rutger Bregman that Fox News refused to air. Watch it here first..

Rutger Bregman, Historian, Called Out Billionaires Face to Face in Davos

He explains all in Switzerland.

‘These Billionaires Are Going to Learn…’: Bernie Sanders Fiery Speech in California | US News

Feb 19, 2026 | US News: In a fiery speech in Los Angeles on 18 February, the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders criticizes ‘grotesque’ levels of economic inequality. Billionaires are “treading on very, very thin ice,” He warned imploring California voters to fight “grotesque” levels of economic inequality by approving a proposed tax on the state’s richest residents.

The Vermont senator railed against the “greed”, “arrogance” and “moral turpitude” of the nation’s “ruling class”, calling it “fairly disgusting” that some ultra-wealthy tech leaders have fled California – or are threatening to do so, if the proposed wealth tax becomes law.

Kamala Harris Will Make the Super Rich Pay More, Not You

Oct 27, 2024

Millionaires at Davos Say 'Tax Us More'

Millionaires Marlene Engelhorn and Phil White joined a Davos protest calling for higher taxes on the wealthy | PHIL WHITE
BBC: A handful of wealthy attendees gathered in Davos are calling on world leaders to tackle the cost of living crisis by pushing up taxes for people like them.

They took to the streets on Sunday alongside left-wing activists to call for fairer tax systems worldwide.

Political and business leaders are at the first in-person World Economic Forum (WEF) since the pandemic began.

But criticisms are mounting over the way the wealthy have profited in the last two years.

UK millionaire Phil White said: "While the rest of the world is collapsing under the weight of an economic crisis, billionaires and world leaders meet in this private compound to discuss turning points in history.

"It's outrageous that our political leaders listen to those who have the most, know the least about the economic impact of this crisis, and many of whom pay infamously little in taxes. The only credible outcome from this conference is to tax the richest and tax us now."

Mr White, who represents a group called Patriotic Millionaires, made his money as a business consultant. He said he was joining left-wing and anti-poverty campaigners calling for change at the annual meeting of influential business people and political leaders because the current economic system was failing.

Over the past decade, a growing number of millionaires and billionaires in the US and Europe have spoken out, calling for governments to impose higher taxes, including wealth levies on the richest.

While only a small number of millionaires were in Davos to attend the protest, the campaigners have sent an open letter to all Davos delegates, signed by millionaire supporters in several countries. » | BBC | Monday, May 23, 2022

Millionaires ask to pay more tax »

Coronavirus: Disney heir and Ben & Jerry’s call for higher taxes »

Dr. Richard Wolff: Economic Update: Inflation - How Markets Fail

In this week's show, Prof. Wolff talks about Sri Lanka’s economic crisis as a global example, and how US billionaires escape taxation at our expense. In the second half, Wolff discusses how and why the market system produces inflations like today’s.

‘Raise My Taxes – Now!’: The Millionaires Who Want to Give It All Away

THE GUARDIAN: Abigail Disney has parted with $72m – and thinks the rich need to pay far more tax. As Covid widens the inequality gap, she and an international league of the super-rich are urging governments to take their money

Abigail Disney has always been very, very rich, or, as she describes it, “too rich”. The money came with her name: she is the granddaughter of Roy Disney who, with his brother Walt, founded the Walt Disney Company in 1923. Disney, 61, refuses to say how much she has, but acknowledges she would have been a billionaire in her own right had she not realised in her 20s that it was her fortune that was making her miserable, and decided to start giving it away.

She has been donating to good causes ever since – $72m (£52m) and counting, mostly to groups helping women in prison, women living with HIV, and victims of domestic violence. But giving it away is no longer enough. She wants the tax collector to take more money, not only from her, but from “all of the absurdly rich people across the world”.

“We’ve long known that the world is hugely unequal,” says Disney. “But now the pandemic has really shown it to all of us, and no one in all conscience can continue to ignore it.” Disney is speaking over Zoom from a pristine white sofa in her San Francisco home. Today, she looks more hippy chic than heiress: her light-brown hair falls in long, gentle curls, and there is a discreet peace dove tattooed on the inside of her wrist.

“It is like when your kids have a bath, and you pull the plug out and slowly all the little toys at the bottom are revealed,” says Disney. “That is what has happened here: now we all know what is going on under the surface.” As well as killing more than 2.5 million people, the pandemic and global lockdown response has plunged some 150 million more into “extreme poverty”, according to the World Bank. The Washington-based institution described Covid-19 as “a heat-seeking missile speeding toward the most vulnerable in society”. » | Rupert Neate | Saturday, April 3, 2021

The Patriotic Millionaires »

Libertarian Takes on Democratic Socialist on Taxes and Loses. Again (2019)

Should we tax the rich at higher rates than we tax the poor? Libertarian Charles Sauer Takes on Democratic Socialist Thom Hartmann... And Loses. Again.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has suggested a seventy percent tax rate on the super profits of the very rich. The very suggestion of the rich paying their fair share has caused controversy among conservatives and in the media. But is taxing the rich at seventy percent really that radical? Libertarian Charles Sauer thinks so, debating Thom Hartmann on the effects and history of higher taxes on the rich. Does taxing the rich at higher rates help democracies function or do they slow innovation, as Charles Sauer believes?

Rutger Bregman's Viral Tax Speech Did Not Go Down Well in Davos

When Dutch historian Rutger Bregman suggested wealthy people should pay more tax at last week's World Economic Forum in Davos, his speech went viral. But he says his comments did not go down well with those in the room at the event, which was attended by world leaders and heads of business.


READ THE ARTICLE HERE »

Why This ‘Patriotic’ Millionaire Wants to Raise Taxes on the Rich

‘We own Congress. We own the White House. We wealthy people are running the country.’ — Here's why self-described Patriotic Millionaire Stephen Prince wants to raise taxes on the rich.

Stephen Prince is a multi-millionaire who made his fortune as the CEO of National Business Products, a company that manufactures plastic gift cards for retailers across the country. Unlike most millionaires, however, he is calling to reform the tax code and make the wealthy pay their fair share. By taxing the rich, Prince believes we can provide Medicare for All, mandate a living wage for workers, and eradicate income inequality. Prince got brutally honest in this video for NowThis explaining that the rich are in charge — in Congress and in the White House — and they are acting in their own interest for their own benefit. Prince believes that raising the minimum wage will increase consumption and we're better off putting money into the hands of people who will spend it in the economy than those at the top who already have plenty of money. Prince also says that the wealthy people in charge do not car if the economy improves just if they're making more money.

Rutger Bregman Tells Davos to Talk about Tax: 'This Is Not Rocket Science'

THE GUARDIAN: Historian berates billionaires at Davos over tax avoidance »

Wall Streeters Freak Out as Public Demands Higher Taxes on the Élite

Wall Street traders, hedge fund managers, and virtually the entire crop of people who devoted their lives to chasing dollars are freaking out right now as they have no one to turn to in order to preserve their corrupt ways. They can’t rely on Republicans because their policies (like the government shutdown) have harmed their profits, but the Democrats and the public are calling for higher taxes on the wealthy. Wall Street is finally starting to feel the same kind of squeeze that they have put on the public for decades. Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this.

Trump's Plan to Cut His Own Taxes

The proposed budgets in Congress will make Trump even richer.

Professor Calls to Tax the Rich at 80 Percent

Apr. 18, 2017 - 6:20 - Tucker takes on professor who's an admitted socialist calls for making the rich pay more than their 'fair share' in honor of Tax Day. Does this include Bernie Sanders?

Gulf States to Start Taxing People to Make Up for Oil Revenue Losses

People in the oil-rich Gulf monarchies have enjoyed lavish welfare and near-zero taxes for decades. But with the collapse of oil prices, governments no longer seem able to afford that.

Australian Tax Office Nets $430m from the Rich

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Scores of the country's wealthiest people have been caught up in a huge government blitz that has recouped more than $430 million in unpaid taxes and fines last year.

High-profile figures recently caught up in the crackdown include racing identity Sean Buckley, art dealer John Ioannou and entrepreneurs Bob Jane and Geoffrey Edelsten, who together have received bills totalling more than $21 million.

But the Australian Taxation Office investigation has been criticised by some of its wealthy targets, who claim they are being singled out by hardline and activist tactics that are "grossly unfair". Others have blasted the ATO as the financial equivalent of the Gestapo.

The ATO's deputy commissioner, Michael Cranston, said that while most wealthy Australians did the "right thing", the agency's compliance program ensured the country's rich were in fact paying "their fair share".

"If the broader population sees that we make sure that the rich - who can really afford to pay taxes - pay, then it's fairer for them and they are more willing to pay their taxes too," he said. » | Chris Vedelago | Sunday, January 26, 2014

Mister Taxman: Why Some Americans Working Abroad Are Ditching Their Citizenships

TIME: Why is Tina Turner switching from American to Swiss citizenship? The legendary singer, a longtime Zurich resident, told the Blick newspaper that she has been very happy in Switzerland and “can’t imagine a better place to live.” But some observers believe she may be one of thousands of American expatriates who have taken the drastic and irrevocable step of giving up their citizenship because of what they consider to be the unjust and discriminatory taxation practices of their government.

While Turner has indicated nothing other than a practical decision behind the switch, it comes at a time when American expats all over the world are turning in their passports in record numbers to avoid double taxation and other financial burdens imposed on them by Uncle Sam. According to government figures, nearly 1,800 Americans relinquished their passports in 2011, a process that requires a special application and a $450 exit fee. True, that number is just a drop in the bucket, considering that an estimated 6 million U.S. citizens live abroad. But the numbers are growing dramatically — a sevenfold increase since 2008, and that is not counting thousands of applications waiting to be processed in U.S. consulates and embassies around the world.

The U.S. is the world’s only industrialized nation that taxes citizens who live overseas, even if their income is generated in a foreign country and they never return to America. And while high-profile cases like that of Turner or that of Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin (who renounced his American citizenship last year to become a resident of Singapore) catch public attention, the vast majority of expatriates affected by double taxation and increasingly draconian filing rules are middle-class or retired, or those who have never lived or worked in the U.S. at all but were born to American parents overseas.

Even though expatriates can claim a $97,000 exclusion on their U.S. taxes, most Americans who work in high-cost nations earn salaries far exceeding this amount, for which they already pay hefty income taxes in their countries of residence. » | Helena Bachman | Thursday, January 31, 2013

TIME: Taxes: Renouncing Your Citizenship to Stick It to the Tax Man? Not as Easy as it Looks » | David Futrelle | Friday, June 22, 2012

Is California Encouraging Rich to Leave?
Art Laffer's plan to fix the Golden State