Nearly 400 millionaires and billionaires call for higher taxes on ultra-wealthy

In an open letter, nearly 400 millionaires and billionaires have called on global leaders attending the World Economic Forum to increase taxes on the super-rich.

Amid growing concerns that the wealthiest in society are buying political influence, leaders are urged to close the widening gap between the ultra-wealthy and everyone else.

Signatories of the letter include actor Mark Ruffalo, musician Brian Eno, and philanthropist Abigail Disney.

Isobel Frye, Senior Policy Advisor of Inequality at Oxfam, reported that, per the World Economic Forum’s annual report, there has been a staggering 81% increase in billionaire wealth since 2020.

She explained that this concentration of wealth enables billionaires to hold significant influence over policies and media, undermining freedoms.

“Earning so much allows billionaires to buy politics, and we have seen that in many illustrations where, compared to the democratic voice that individuals have, the concentration and coming together of the political and business elite forms a pact that is very difficult for other voices to come in.”

She noted that the issue is not about the number of billionaires, but rather the rate and extent of their wealth accumulation, which has been exacerbated by tax policies and globalisation.

“It’s the systemic corrosion that has enabled people to accumulate. The systems that allow for such accumulation are broken; they prevent states from being able to meet the needs of ordinary people through public services and also the economies,” she said.

To listen to Briner in conversation with 702’s John Perlman, use the audio player below: