Taxing 10% of the Wealth of Americans Worth $50 Million or More Would Fund Washington for About Four Months
Big wealth-tax math falls far short of big spending plans.
All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg · Dario Defends Himself, Datacenter Panic, AI Doomer Trap, Senate Toss-UpTake 10% of the combined wealth of all Americans worth $50 million or more, and it would fund the federal government for about four months.
All Americans worth more than $50 million together hold about $23 trillion in net worth, so a 10% tax would raise about $2.3 trillion.
The Cato Institute estimated that proposals associated with the Democratic Socialists of America would add $71 trillion to $212 trillion in new federal spending over time, compared with $182 trillion in net worth held by the entire American population.
The Forbes 400 together hold $6.6 trillion, covering under a tenth of even the smaller spending figure.
Questions people ask
How much does the federal government spend in a year?
Federal spending is currently around $6.8 trillion per year. A one-time $2.3 trillion levy is about one-third of that, or about four months of spending. Most of the money goes to Social Security, Medicare and other health programs, defense, and interest on the debt.
How many Americans are worth more than $50 million?
Only a small fraction of households qualify. Estimates from wealth-research firms generally put the number in the tens of thousands, often around 80,000 to 100,000 people. Their wealth is heavily concentrated in businesses, stocks, and real estate, not cash in a bank account.
What is the Cato Institute?
The Cato Institute is a libertarian research organization in Washington that studies taxes, spending, and regulation. In this story, its estimate is used to compare the proposed new spending with total private wealth.