175. The world is hugely unequal

This year’s World Economic Forum in Davos will be remembered not for politicians’ rhetoric but for something else – an open letter issued by almost 400 millionaires and billionaires from 24 countries.

These gentlemen have urged global leaders to raise taxes on the super-rich, amid growing concerns that the wealthiest individuals are using their money to buy political influence.

The open letter, released to coincide with the World Economic Forum in Davos, urges global leaders attending the conference to address the widening gap between the super-rich and the rest of the population.

The letter, signed by prominent figures, states that excessive wealth is corrupting politics, fostering social exclusion, and worsening the climate crisis.

First read the document in full – 

Davos Attendees—It’s Time For Us All To Win.

“Fifty-five years ago, when the World Economic Forum first met, humanity stood at the dawn of remarkable progress. In the last fifty years, we have taken giant leaps in technology, medicine, communication, and global trade to create huge potential opportunities for humankind. 

Today, we are more connected than ever—but at the same time, we have never been more divided. Decades of innovation have gone hand in hand with decades of inequality, environmental destruction, and wasted opportunity. The richest 1% now own more than 95% of the world’s population put together. 

The gap between the super-rich and everyone else grows larger every day, stretching across neighbourhoods, nations, and, perhaps most of all, generations. 

A handful of global oligarchs with extreme wealth have bought up our democracies, taken over our governments, gagged the freedom of our media, placed a stranglehold on technology and innovation, deepened poverty and social exclusion, and accelerated the breakdown of our planet. 

What we treasure, rich and poor alike, is being eaten away by those intent on growing the gulf between their vast power and everyone else. 

We all know this. When even millionaires, like us, recognise that extreme wealth has cost everyone else everything else, there can be no doubt that society is dangerously teetering off the edge of a precipice. 

We are worn out watching this happen. We want our democracies back. We want our communities back. We want our future back. 

In 2026, we must do more than hope for a future we want. We must win it. 

You already have a simple and effective solution, supported by millionaires and the public alike. Stop squandering the time we have—tax the super-rich.

As millionaires who stand shoulder to shoulder with all people, we demand it. And as our elected representatives—whether it’s those of you at Davos, local councillors, city mayors, or regional leaders—it’s your duty to deliver it. So tax us. Tax the super rich.

We can win back power from those who capture it; win back our democracies from those who abuse them; reclaim health, education, and safe homes from those who have bottomed out our infrastructure and public services. We can win back our shared wealth.

Extreme wealth has led to extreme control for those who gamble with our safe future for their obscene gains. Now is the time to end that control and win back our future.

Millionaires like us refuse to be silent. It is time to be counted. Tax us and make sure the next fifty years meet the promise of progress for everyone.” 

But long before this, in 2021, Abigail Disney donated $72m and argued that the rich need to pay far more tax. As COVID widened the inequality gap, she and an international league of the super-rich urged governments to take their money.

However, governments decided to overlook it.

Abigail Disney is the granddaughter of Roy Disney, who, together with his brother Walt, founded the Walt Disney Company in 1923. 

She revealed that she realized in her 20s that her wealth was making her miserable and decided to start giving it away.

She has been donating to good causes, but giving it away is no longer enough. She wants the tax collector to take more money, not only from her but also from all of the absurdly rich people across the world.

I liked her statement at the peak of COVID when she said, “Throughout the pandemic, the poorest have been forced to continue going to work, risking their lives, while the rich stay at home. And those going to work in life-saving essential jobs are paying more proportionally in tax than the wealthy, who are safe at home. We are all humans at the end of the day, and we need to look after each other.” 

Then there is the Patriotic Millionaires, a nonpartisan group of wealthy Americans advocating tax reform and encouraging the rich to contribute a larger share of their income to taxes. 

Established in 2010 by Erica Payne to promote the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, members must have either an annual income of $1 million or more or assets exceeding $5 million. 

It has grown into a worldwide organization with more than 200 members, who describe themselves as “proud traitors to their class” and express concern about the "destabilizing concentration of wealth and power."

These members contend that, rather than allowing the super-rich to spend their billions on philanthropic vanity projects like opera houses and museums, higher taxes should finance public services, welfare, and address increasing inequality. 

A survey by the Patriotic Millionaires group revealed that 77% of G20 millionaires believe that extremely wealthy individuals purchase political influence.

Previously, US Senator Elizabeth Warren suggested implementing a 2% annual wealth tax on individuals with wealth exceeding $50 million, which could generate over $4 trillion—funds sufficient to overhaul the entire US public education system. 

Warren also calculated that the ultra-rich and powerful have manipulated the rules to such an extent that the top 0.1% end up paying a lower effective tax rate than the bottom 99%. 

Inequality is not something new; it has existed since time immemorial.

But now we need a solution, or it will create chaos around the world in the near future. 

The number of super-rich people is increasing very fast. Oxfam reported that a record number of billionaires was created last year, bringing the global total to over 3,000 for the first time.

The first thing we have to understand is that rich families possess hundreds of millions, and since money generates more money, their wealth continues to grow. 

The second important point is that wealthy individuals tend to save most of their income, so it doesn't circulate back into the economy. In contrast, ordinary people spend a larger share of their earnings and, as a result, end up paying taxes multiple times on their income. 

In such a scenario, individuals such as Abigail must be celebrated. 

Look at her commitment - when her father purchased a private plane, specifically a Boeing 737 equipped with queen-size beds and an onboard shower, she reacted rebelliously by refusing to board it. Although her activism angered her parents, who revered Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher’s neoliberal capitalism. 

But the question is whether people from her class will have the courage to stand up to their own class. That’s the hardest thing in the world to do.