Jun 10, 2026
Ahead of the upcoming SpaceX initial public offering, which is expected to transform CEO Elon Musk into the world’s first-ever trillionaire, wealth inequality continues to be a hot topic.
Several notable American politicians, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have expressed their distaste for the billionaire class, saying individuals shouldn’t be able to accumulate wealth that rivals nation states.
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Lewis Hamilton, one of the greatest F1 racecar drivers of all time, agrees with the cohort above and has held that belief for some time. Back in 2023, the Ferrari driver joined Jay Shetty on the latter’s podcast to discuss a wide range of topics including success, trauma and wealth.
As the two were chatting about money, Lewis shared what he thinks about billionaires and today’s levels of wealth inequality.
“You shouldn’t be able to have billions,” Hamilton said on the podcast. “I think there should be a limit to how much you can have because there’s enough to go around for everyone.”
As a clip from Hamilton’s podcast appearance resurfaced and began making the rounds on social media, many were quick to point to his perceived hypocrisy. After all, not only is Hamilton dating a billionaire, but GQ Australia reports his net worth at $454.9 million, though they don’t disclose how they got to this number.
‘Zero awareness of how out of touch he sounds’
Hamilton is the first Black driver ever to compete in F1, and quickly made a name for himself as one of the brightest young stars in the sport when he made his debut in 2007. He now holds several F1 records, including most wins (105), most pole positions (104) and the most podium finishes (206).
Such success allowed him to win seven Formula One World Drivers’ Championship titles, placing him in a tie with the legendary Michael Schumacher for the most all-time.
In 2015, Hamilton was noted as the wealthiest British athlete with a net worth of £88 million, which is roughly $163,790,000. Five years earlier, Hamilton moved to Monaco, a popular destination among F1 drivers as it doesn’t levy capital gains, personal income or net wealth taxes on its residents.
With this in mind, Hamilton’s comments about billionaires certainly haven’t aged well. On top of being a wealthy man who avoids paying taxes in Britain, Hamilton is also dating Kim Kardashian, an actual billionaire who is currently worth about $1.9 billion.
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“He’s dating a woman who lives in LA and is worth $2 billion,” a user commented on X. “He is worth $500 million. He has zero awareness of how out of touch he sounds.”
Kardashian was recently in Monaco, where she watched her boyfriend take second place at the Monaco Grand Prix.
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‘He’s worth about half a billion, and uses offshore accounts’
As many have taken to social media to call out Hamilton’s hypocrisy, some are highlighting how the driver isn’t just a wealthy man who got rich by winning a lot of races.
In fact, Hamilton has done what many billionaires do: preserve their wealth by limiting or eliminating any and all tax obligations. Moving to Monaco to avoid paying income taxes in Britain certainly does just that, but Hamilton’s money moves don’t end there.
“The same Lewis Hamilton who used a corporate leasing structure to save money on taxes (around £3.3 million in VAT) when acquiring his Bombardier Challenger 605 private jet in 2013?” wrote one X user.
“He’s worth about half a billion, and uses offshore accounts,” wrote another.
It didn’t take long for the social media masses to start piling on, and while many came with jokes and snide remarks, some were quick to point out an obvious solution to Hamilton’s issue.
“Sir Lewis is free to move back to the UK from Monaco and to donate his wealth to charity,” wrote a user on X. “Until he does, he’s a hypocrite.”
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Chase is an Associate Editor for Wise Publishing. He formerly worked at Yahoo Canada as an editor on both the News and Sports teams.
