Oct 31, 2024
It’s no secret that Bernie Sanders isn’t a fan of extreme wealth. The U.S. Senator has famously argued that billionaires shouldn’t exist, remarking to CNN’s Chris Wallace in 2023 that people can “make it” on $999 million.
So, what happens when one of the world’s richest individuals, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, crosses paths with Sanders?
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During a Sept. 25 appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Gates shared the story of an encounter between them sparked by the filming of an episode of the billionaire’s Netflix docuseries “What's Next? The Future With Bill Gates.”
“He’s kind of predictable, he wishes we were rich enough that we could be more generous,” Gates said, reflecting on his meeting with Sanders.
Gates highlighted the complexities of Sanders’s vision, questioning, “How do you raise that revenue without destroying the capitalistic system that makes the U.S. the envy of the world?”
As part of an episode titled “Can You Be Too Rich?,” Gates says he sought diverse perspectives. It includes interviews with Sanders, Mark Cuban, U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney and former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, among others. Gates acknowledged that he's open to paying more in taxes, but not to the level Sanders advocates.
“I told Bernie that I would make the tax system more progressive, I would have paid twice as much in taxes, but I would still be a billionaire. So he would get rid of 99% of my money, I’d only get rid of 50% of it,” Gates told Stephen Colbert.
Still in the 3-comma club
Colbert pointed out that even under Sanders's plan, Gates would remain extremely wealthy.
“But if you get rid of 99% of your money, you'd still be a multibillionaire,” Colbert remarked.
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Gates quickly interjected, “No, no, no.”
At the time of the interview, Gates's net worth was estimated to be $130-plus billion. Forbes now pegs it at $100-plus billion. Either way, if he were to suddenly lose 99% of his wealth, while no longer being a multibillionaire, he’d still be a member of the three-comma club.
The broadcasted exchange caught the attention of Sanders himself, who posted a clip of the conversation days later on social media, adding, “Bill Gates agrees we need a more progressive tax system.
“Of course, if he got rid of 99% of his money, he would still be a billionaire.”
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Wealth tax?
Sanders has made it clear that his stance on billionaires isn't a personal slight on any individual, but rather "an attack upon a system." He also emphasizes that he doesn’t intend to devalue hard work. Instead, his belief that billionaires shouldn’t exist stems from concerns over the extreme inequality in society today.
“Do I think people who work hard, create new businesses should become rich? I do. Do I think they should have $50 billion or $100 billion when you have got a half a million people who are homeless in America today, when you have 85 million people who can't afford health insurance? No, I don't,” he told Wallace.
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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s latest annual homelessness assessment reports that, on one night in January 2023, it calculated that around 653,000 Americans were homeless — over 12% more than the previous year. Six-in-10 were experiencing sheltered homelessness — meaning they were in an emergency shelter, transitional housing or safe haven program — while the remainder were unsheltered.
As for the health insurance figure, Sanders may have been referring to a 2022 survey from the Commonwealth Fund that found 43% of working-age adults were uninsured or inadequately insured — around 85 million people — according to PolitiFact.
To help address these issues, Sanders has long called for taxation on the ultra-wealthy, an initiative he wishes the U.S. would undertake and provide global leadership on.
The best thing about being a billionaire
It’s worth noting that Gates is actively giving away much of his fortune. Along with legendary investor Warren Buffett, he co-founded The Giving Pledge, a charitable campaign urging the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to donate more than 50% of their wealth to philanthropic causes.
Gates, however, has pledged to give away far more than that.
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“I've committed to give over 95% of my money away,” he told Colbert. “To join the pledge, you only have to commit to give the majority away.”
Still, Gates enjoys the wealth he’s built.
When Colbert asked him what the best part of being a billionaire is, Gates didn’t hesitate, offering a two-fold answer.
“One is, you don't have to worry. You can send your kids to any school,” he said. “You're not going to have any problems.”
The second benefit, according to Gates, is the ability to make a real impact through philanthropy.
“If you're charitably minded, then you can pick things you believe in, malnutrition, whatever cause you want to work on, and you can be incredibly generous and help improve them,” he added.
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Jing is an investment reporter for Moneywise. He is an avid advocate of investing for passive income. Despite the ups and downs he’s been through with the markets, Jing believes that you can generate a steadily increasing income stream by investing in high quality companies.
