How many times have we heard Democrats say, “we need billionaires to pay their fair share”? Yes, if only those greedy billionaires would pay their “fair share” of taxes, all the socialistic dreams of congressional Democrats would come true. There’d be no more fretting over how to pay for welfare for anyone who wants their basic needs provided to them – food, shelter, healthcare, and utilities – free of charge. Unfortunately for Democrats the math doesn’t add up.
According to World Population Review there are currently 735 billionaires in the United States. In all, they are worth approximately $6.2 trillion. This is their total net worth, which is something quite different from their combined annual taxable income. The presence of billionaires in the economy significantly impacts tax policy and revenue generation.
Individual tax returns are not public records; however, in 2021, Elon Musk disclosed that he paid $11 billion in personal income tax for that year. That’s seems like a “fair share” even if he is the richest man in the world. But not to Democrats. The socialists within the Democratic caucus would seize most of Musk’s wealth given the chance. After his support for President Trump in 2024 and his rampant run with the Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.) most Democrats in Congress would relish the opportunity to take every last penny from Elon Musk while feeling justified doing it.
Here are the facts people like Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) are purposely ignoring to deceive the public while ranting about “Trump’s billionaire friends” and “billionaires paying their fair share”. The federal government spent approximately $6.8 trillion in fiscal year 2024. The federal government collected approximately $4.9 trillion in revenue that same year. This amount primarily came from individual income taxes and payroll taxes. Consequently, the federal government spent $1.9 trillion more than it “earned” (received in revenue) in 2024.
And we do this year after year because of insane liberal programs like spending $16.2 million on diapers in 2023. Instead of saying “no” we cannot afford to be giving away free food, diapers, rent assistance, utility assistance, and pocket money for the needy, liberals say what? “Tax the rich.” “Make billionaires pay their fair share.”
A reminder: the total net worth of the 735 billionaires in the United States is $6.2 trillion. And again, this is not annual taxable income. But to point out how deceptive and disingenuous Democrats truly are, how they just lie about almost everything, let’s pretend (Democrats like to play make believe – that’s why they love the transgender fairytale so much) that the total net worth of our nation’s 735 billionaires was 100% taxable income at a rate of 100 percent. What impact would this have on the federal budget? Would it put a dent in the astronomical $37 trillion national debt?
If the $6.2 trillion net worth of the 735 billionaires in the United States was used to cover the annual $1.9 trillion shortfall in the budget our 735 billionaires would be penniless in 3.2 years. Broke. All the money, gone. Fortunately, the socialists (aka Democrats) haven’t found an easy way to tax net worth so Trump’s billionaire friends should remain billionaires for a while.
WHAT IS THE AVERAGE TAXABLE INCOME OF THE 735 BILLIONAIRES
There’s no public data specifically on the annual average taxable income of the 735 U.S. billionaires as a group; individual returns are private. However, we can infer from several reputable sources about their typical taxable income (reportable to the IRS, excluding unrealized gains):
- Annual taxable income – The annual taxable income of the 735 billionaires in the United States averages in the hundreds of millions—typically $150M–$300M adjusted gross income (AGI) per person.
- Combined taxable income – Using the high-end number of $300 million (AGI), the combined taxable AGI of the 735 billionaires is approximately $221 billion.
Even if the combined taxable income of our 735 billionaires was 3 times the assumed total of $221 billion annually, if their combined taxable income was $663 billion annually and Democrats got what they wanted and taxed this income at 90%, it would provide $597 billion in tax revenue. Even at this insane tax rate the federal government would still come up short by $1.3 trillion annually.
CONCLUSION
Would taxing billionaires at extreme rates balance the federal government’s annual budget shortfall? If the federal government were able to seize the entire “net worth” of all the billionaires living in the United States, would it be able to cover even one year of spending? It would not. The federal government would still be in the red by $600 billion. Do congressional Democrats realize this when they insist their liberal socialistic programs could be paid for, if only those greedy billionaires would “pay their fair share”. Some might. Most don’t. Would knowing that it would be a disaster for our economy if Congress attempted to tax the people to cover the cost of an out-of-control federal government trying to do things it was never meant to do make a difference in the liberal, class warfare battle cry? It likely would make no difference whatsoever. Denial and deception win elections but do nothing to balance the budget.
The federal government must cut spending significantly and stop spending more money than it receives each year.
