Wealth has not made them selfish.
The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the world, both healthily and economically. However, a recent study by the University of Stamford ensures that a single tax of 99% on the money that the world's billionaires have earned during the coronavirus crisis would be more than enough to pay for the necessary vaccines for all the inhabitants of the planet. , and that each person who has lost their job due to the virus received compensation of 20,000 euros.
According to the study, this extraordinary tax would raise some 7 billion euros and still leave the richest people 55 billion euros so they can continue enjoying their opulent lives. The wealth of billionaires has increased by a staggering 69% since the start of the pandemic.
Earlier this year, a group of 83 of the world's most famous billionaires came together to demand that the wealthiest in society, including themselves, pay more taxes to help defray the cost of the pandemic. Here we tell you which are some of the millionaires who are willing to pay more taxes:
Stephen King
Stephen King, the billionaire author of horror novels who Forbes estimated earned him $17 million in 2019 alone, has no qualms about paying his taxes. In fact, the acclaimed writer has criticized the rich who do not pay their "fair share" of it, arguing that "those who have received much should be forced to pay the same proportion".
George Soros
George Soros supports proposals that increase taxes on the wealthy and has been a long-time advocate for a fairer distribution of wealth in society. He also signed the letter calling for higher taxes on the mega-rich, and in 2011 he was quoted in The Star newspaper as saying that the rich are "harming their own long-term interests by their opposition to paying more taxes." Still, the investor has been accused of hypocrisy in investing billions in charities to dodge taxes and moving the tax domicile of the Soros Fund from him to Ireland, where taxes are much lower.
Bill Gates
A frequent advocate of higher taxes on the wealthy, Bill Gates has paid more than $10 billion in taxes in his lifetime. Gates strongly believes in a more progressive system and thinks he should have paid more for his earnings during Microsoft's most successful years. Both he and his now ex-wife Melinda started a foundation that invests billions in the fight against poverty and disease every year.
Mark Zuckerberg
Facebook has been the focus of much criticism for its tax evasion, but the social media giant's chairman and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, has said he's "okay" paying more taxes and says he won't receive any tax breaks for his efforts. philanthropic. In 2019, Facebook paid just €28 million in taxes in countries like the UK, despite having revenue of €1.6 billion.
