End The Dynasties!

[Editorial]

 

Ever watch the television show Dynasty?

In the old days there was am Estate Tax which the Republicans call a “Death Tax” to demonize it, it was only for millionaires but they made it sound like it was for everyone.

In the old days the taxes were bracketed (No not like March Madness.) and at one time the top tax brackets, the top bracket was for those who made more than $200,000 (approx. $2.49 million in today's dollars) and they had to fork over 90% from 1944 through 1963.

Now the top bracket is only 37% way down from the high of 90%

I ask Perplexity.AI: “How many of the billionaires came from wealthy families?”

Answer:

According to the search results, a significant portion of new billionaires in 2023 inherited their wealth rather than earning it through entrepreneurship:

• Of the 137 people who became billionaires in the 12 months to April 2023, 53 inherited a combined $150.8 billion from their families. This exceeded the $140.7 billion created by 84 new self-made billionaires over the same period. [4 & 1]
• The report by UBS found that this was the first time in the nine-year history of their annual report that "the next generation of billionaires accumulated more wealth through inheritance than entrepreneurship". [4]
• The report estimates that over the next 20-30 years, more than 1,000 billionaires are likely to transfer over $5.2 trillion in wealth to their heirs. [4 & 1]
• Some of the most well-known billionaire heirs include the Walton family (Walmart), the Ambani family (Reliance Industries), and the Bettencourt family (L'Oreal). [2 & 3]

So in summary, the search results indicate that a significant and growing portion of new billionaires, over 50 out of 137 in the latest year, have inherited their wealth from wealthy families rather than earning it themselves. [4 & 1]

1] More Billionaire Wealth Achieved Through Inheritance, Overtaking Entrepreneurship (Investopedia)
2] Which of the World’s Richest People Inherited Their Wealth? (Madison Trust Company)
3] Where do billionaires come from? Mom and Dad. (VOX)
4] Next generation of billionaires collect more wealth from inheritance than work, says UBS (The Guardian)
5] New Billionaires Inherited More Than They Earned Last Year, UBS Report Says (Forbes)

My answer is to bring back the high tax brackets and the Estate tax for those making over a million dollars a year and step up the percentage at intervals, stop the formation of dynasties. Stop the oligarchs! They made their money off of our backs and passed it down through the generations!

[/Editorial]