I have joined more than 370 millionaires from 22 countries in signing a letter calling on our political leaders to tackle the cost of extreme wealth by taxing the super-rich – people like me.
The letter has been delivered to the World Economic Forum in Davos, where more than 60 heads of state have gathered. That includes Donald Trump, who will join virtually today – days after his inauguration.
Børge Brende, WEF’s president, said Davos would be a “very special moment”. I hope it will – after all this event’s mission is “to bring together government, businesses and civil society to improve the state of the world”. Perhaps then, it’s time for leaders to put their money where their mouths are. But I won’t hold my breath.
Let me tell you why I signed it. Over the past few weeks, rich men (it is all men) on the other side of the Atlantic have dominated UK news and politics.
After sprinkling a quarter of a billion dollars on the Trump election campaign, increasing his wealth by $170bn in the process, Elon Musk has now turned his attention from the US to the UK.
From his personal soapbox on X, his incessant posts have covered everything from his on-off relationship with Nigel Farage, grooming gangs and a poll on whether the US should “liberate” the UK from its “tyrannical government”.
Musk is said to be among a number of millionaires and billionaires interested in donating vast sums of cash to Reform UK – and as long as he does it through one of his UK-based companies, it is all perfectly legal. He also has eyes on Liverpool football club, according to his dad. And reports are now coming that TikTok could soon join his social media empire. We’re in danger of turning into Planet Musk.
Meanwhile, his new right-hand man, the new president of the US, Donald Trump, has added Canada and Greenland to his shopping list, and Mark Zuckerberg has joined the “freedom of speech club” – which it seems essentially means freedom to lie.
What we’re seeing now is a new phenomenon: it’s what happens when countries tolerate extreme wealth, wealth and activities that exist beyond borders and control. This increasing concentration of wealth and power is now plainly toxic to democracy. In his farewell address, Joe Biden warned an oligarchy was taking shape in the US. And it looks like it’s heading our way next. What episode of Black Mirror are we living in?
And the rich are getting richer: billionaire wealth surged by $2tn last year, roughly $5.7bn a day, three times faster than the year before, while the number of people living in poverty has barely changed since 1990.
They are numbers most people can’t comprehend, but it’s a clear warning that the gap between rich and everyone else is growing and the wealthiest are bankrolling politics and media (social and conventional) – gobbling up democracy as they go.
Our futures are being sold to those with the most money – those in some ways, with all the money. Just a handful of people own more money than billions of us. The new untouchables.
Something needs to be done. Media ownership reform is one thing. Social media controls need to have teeth. And politics needs to be publicly funded – we need to end the role of donors in our politics. So that the super-rich don’t have an option to control our democracies.
We need to keep the influence, and the suggestion of influence, of private and corporate money from donors out of politics – and I say that as a political donor. Contradictory, you might think, or counterintuitive. Well, I’m also a millionaire who wants millionaires to pay more tax.
Being patriotic isn’t about wearing a Maga hat, or driving round in a union jack-emblazoned bus, or slagging off immigration for cheap political points.
It’s about wanting your country and all the people in it to succeed. It’s about investing in a healthy, well-educated workforce, in decent, sustainable transport, in stable legal systems and in our National Health Service. It’s about opportunity for everyone – not just the wealthy few. And remember, the money of the very rich is made in our economies, built and paid for by our taxes.
Here in the UK, a tax of just 2% on assets of more than £10m would generate £24bn a year. It would affect only 20,000 people and would raise an incredible sum that would help us to invest in a fairer, more sustainable society.
It’s right that those who have taken the most from our economies, those with the deepest pockets – and who would barely notice it – should pay their fair share.
In a world that feels increasingly absurd, this makes complete sense. That’s the message to send to Davos. It really is time to draw the line on extreme wealth.
