What do famous people say?
Quotes from famous people in support of greater taxation on the rich
Incredible Hulk actor, Mark Alan Ruffalo
In May 2022, the face of Hulk in a decade of Marvel movies, Mark Ruffalo, joined our call for a Global Wealth Tax by signing our joint letter, ‘In Tax We Trust’, calling for millionaires and billionaires participating at the World Economic Forum to demand that the rich pay their fair share of taxes.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio (aka Pope Francis)
In 2022, Pope Francis encouraged the people everyone loves to hate – tax collectors – telling them that while they will never win popularity contests, they are vital for the functioning of a fair society.
Additionally, Francis said everyone had to pay their fair share of taxes, particularly the wealthy, so that the weakest members of society were not “crushed by the most powerful” people.
English former professional footballer, Gary Linker
In February 2022, Gary Linker, Tweeted that it ‘seems we’re in a spot of financial bother with inflation rising, energy costs soaring and Brexit project fear becoming reality. Maybe put up the top rate of tax for the wealthy to help us out (and, yes, me included). Perhaps even the super rich non doms might help…greed sucks.’
American actor, comedian, and singer, Seth MacFarlane
The creator of the television series Family Guy, endorsed our millionaires’ call to governments worldwide to ‘tax us now’ in 2022 by saying that he ‘couldn’t agree more’ on Twitter.
American billionaire investor & hedge fund manager, Ray Dalio
Billionaire and founder of the world’s biggest hedge fund (Bridgewater Associates), Ray Dalio was blunt with 60 Minutes in 2019, when he was asked whether people as rich as he is should pay more in taxes: “Of course. … Am I saying something that’s controversial? One way or another, the important thing is to take those tax dollars and make them productive”.
Billionaire investor and philanthropist, George Soros
In June 2019, George Soros signed an open letter published on Medium calling on American presidential candidates “to support a moderate wealth tax on the fortunes of the richest 1/10th of the richest 1% of Americans—on us.”
Salesforce co-founder, Marc Benioff
In addition to advocating for higher taxes for the rich in a New York Times op-ed in 2019, the Salesforce co-founder, Marc Benioff called for business leaders to “focus not only on their shareholders, but also on all of their stakeholders—their employees, customers, communities and the planet.” Benioff has previously campaigned for a tax bump on large San Francisco businesses to address homelessness.
Billionaire and Kaufman & Broad cofounder, Eli Broad
Before he passed away in 2021, billionaire and Kaufman & Broad cofounder, Eli Broad, authored a New York Times op-ed in June 2019 that praised capitalism while advocating for a wealth tax: “A wealth tax can start to address the economic inequality eroding the soul of our country’s strength. I can afford to pay more, and I know others can too.”
American business magnate and investor, Warren Buffet
In a 2011 op-ed in the New York Times, Buffett called on the nation to “stop coddling the super-rich” and highlighted that he was taxed at a lower rate than anybody else in his office.
Buffett’s wealth grew by $24.3 billion between 2014 and 2018 but he only paid $23.7 million in taxes, a rate of just 0.1 percent, after reporting taxable income of $125 million, according to an article published by ProPublica.
