If you’ve been able to get past the news about the war in Ukraine–no easy task–you may have noticed a lot of reporting and op-eds on the topic of “excessive wealth.” Concerns about the ultra-rich have been festering for years now, heightened by news of the massive fortunes made by billionaires during the pandemic while most Americans have struggled. The latest reminder has been the recent focus on the role of Russian oligarchs in propping up Putin in exchange for their super-yachts.
As Heather Cox Richardson wrote, “Ukraine’s people are trying to save their democracy from a criminal assault by an autocrat who has perverted his own country’s government, concentrating the nation’s wealth and power in the hands of his cronies, and silencing those who want a say in their government. That fight is not limited to Ukraine.”
Oligarchy, or the somewhat tamer plutocracy, is what inextricably links excessive wealth and philanthropy. As I wrote in last month’s Letter: “Decades of misguided tax and economic policies have left us with the mess we call wealth inequality. There are many steps we can take to avoid the mistakes of the past and slow the accumulation of excessive wealth, but to fix what exists now the choices are limited: for individuals, it’s meaningful wealth and estate taxes alongside public pressure to give more money to charity; for foundations, it’s increased payout requirements (unless someone thinks a wealth tax on foundations is within the realm of possibilities).”
The fight here at home to address massive wealth accumulation has been elevated this week by President Biden’s call for a minimum tax on billionaires. There are many good reasons for such a tax, but perhaps the best was suggested by Erica Payne, Executive Director of Patriotic Millionaires, reflecting her personal view: “The most important reason to tax the ultra-rich is to make them less rich.”
Efforts to get wealthy individuals, private foundations and donor advised funds to give more to charity not only provide important social services but also make the ultra-rich less rich. So how does one oligarch, Elon Musk, respond to criticism that he is not giving enough? By tweeting “it’s very hard to give away money effectively.” I don’t think MacKenzie Scott would agree, as she’s given away $12 billion in just the last two years. Musk, with assets more than four times greater than Scott, would need to give $50 billion to charity to be on a par with her. But then he’d only have $200 billion left. And I doubt the tens of thousands of nonprofits who are trying to improve the lives of Americans would agree with Musk. We’ve thrown children back into poverty. Voter suppression is on a rampage. Disasters seem to be the new normal. Our climate continues to deteriorate. And the wealth gap widens. But Elon Musk can’t give money away because he can’t do it effectively. Maybe he should just pay his taxes and let the government do it for him.