Dec 6, 2024
As one of the world’s wealthiest people, billionaire Bill Gates defies the money-grubbing mogul stereotype. A celebrated philanthropist, he has given much of his wealth away. And if he had his way, he’d give much more to the U.S. government than he does today.
In fact, he’d have let Uncle Sam take nearly two-thirds of his wealth — gladly.
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“I would set tax rates quite a bit higher for rich people,” the Microsoft co-founder told journalist Kara Swisher in a live recording of her podcast, “On with Kara Swisher,” at the Paris Theater in New York City on Sept. 26. “I would take away 62% of what I have.”
Gates was on Swisher’s podcast to promote his Netflix docuseries “What’s Next? The Future With Bill Gates” — one episode, titled “Can You Be Too Rich?,” shines a light on wealth inequality in America.
“It’s kind of wild that we do have billionaires,” he noted in the episode. “It’s a huge amount of wealth, which if you even tried to consume it would be kind of absurd.
“You want that money to be given back to society, not just consumed.”
Re-thinking taxes in light of wealth
Gates has long been a proponent of tax reform for the wealthy. In 2019, he wrote a blog post outlining his ideas on capital gains and the estate tax.
“I’ve been disproportionately rewarded for the work I’ve done — while many others who work just as hard struggle to get by,” he wrote. “That’s why I’m for a tax system in which, if you have more money, you pay a higher percentage in taxes. And I think the rich should pay more than they currently do.”
Gates told Swisher that, had his idea for a tax system been in place throughout his life, he estimates his worth would be about 38% of what it was. At the time of the interview, his net worth was estimated to be $130-plus billion. Forbes now pegs it at $108 billion as of Dec. 6.
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It may sound strange to hear a billionaire discuss willingly handing over such a large sum in taxes, but to Gates it’s about fairness and helping the government do its job. He believes the more taxes rich people pay, the better the government can provide services and take financial pressure off typical wage earners.
Meanwhile, the nation’s top 1% continue to make money at an almost incomprehensible rate. As of the second quarter of 2024, their wealth amounted to $46.71 trillion, according to Federal Reserve data. That’s up more than 50% from 2020’s $30.35 trillion — and more than the combined GDP of the U.S. and China in 2023, which totaled $45.15 trillion, per the World Bank.
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What the people say
Other groups of rich folks, such as the Patriotic Millionaires, have coalesced around this line of thinking — and in January, 260 millionaires and billionaires signed a letter demanding world leaders increase their taxes as part of the Proud to Pay More movement “to tackle extreme inequality” and “help reduce the cost of living for working people.”
American billionaires, including Warren Buffett, Michael Bloomberg and George Soros, have also previously supported increased taxes on the wealthy.
Others, of course, oppose such measures for individuals and businesses.
As for everyday Americans, it seems the public has an appetite for taxing the wealthy. Surveying 1,000 registered voters, Navigator Research reported in February that 79% of respondents support raising taxes on the rich — including 94% of Democrats and 63% of Republicans. In addition, more than 7-in-10 Americans support raising taxes on the wealthy and big corporations across all income levels.
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Lou Carlozo is a freelance contributor to Moneywise.
