People with extraordinary wealth must give it away – or be punished

In 2024 wealth concentration rose to an all-time high. According to Forbes Billionaires Listnot only are there more billionaires than ever before—2,781—but those billionaires are also wealthier than ever, with a combined fortune of $14.2 trillion. It’s a trend that looks set to continue unabated. A recent report from the financial data company Altrata estimated that about 1.2 million individuals worth more than $5 million will hand over a total of nearly $31 trillion in wealth over the next decade.

Discontent and concern about the effects of extreme wealth in our society is growing. Senator Bernie Sanders, for example, stated that “America’s obscene level of income and wealth inequality is a deeply moral problem.” In a co-op for CNN in 2023 Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Disney heiress Abigail Disney wrote that “extreme wealth inequality is a threat to our economy and democracy.” In 2024, when Tesla’s board put Elon Musk’s $56 billion pay package to a vote, some major shareholders voted against it, saying such a level of compensation was “absurd” and “ridiculous.”

In 2025 the fight against growing wealth inequality will be high on the political agenda. In July 2024 The G20 — the world’s 20 largest economies — agreed to work on a proposal by Brazil to introduce a new global “billionaire tax,” which would impose a 2 percent tax on assets worth more than $1 billion. That would raise about $250 billion a year. Although this particular proposal was not endorsed in the Rio Declaration, the G20 countries agree that the super rich should be taxed more.

Progressive politicians won’t be the only ones trying to tackle this problem. In 2025 millionaires themselves will increasingly mobilize and put pressure on political leaders. One such movement is Patriotic millionairesa non-partisan group of multi-millionaires who are already publicly campaigning and privately lobbying the US Congress for a guaranteed living wage for all, a fair tax system and equal representation protections. “Millionaires and big corporations – who have benefited the most from our country’s assets – should pay a larger percentage of the tab to run the country”, states their value. Members include Abigail Disney, former BlackRock CEO Maurice Pearl, legal scholar Lawrence Lessig, screenwriter Norman Lear and investor Lawrence Benenson.

Another example is TaxMeNowlobby group founded in 2021 of young multi-millionaires in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, which also advocates higher wealth taxation. Its most famous member is 32-year-old Marlene Engelhorn, a descendant of Friedrich Engelhorn, founder of the German pharmaceutical giant BASF. She recently set up a council of 50 randomly selected Austrian citizens to decide what should happen to her 25 million euro inheritance. “I inherited a fortune, and therefore power, without having done anything for it,” she said in a statement. “If the politicians don’t do their job and redistribute, then I have to redistribute my wealth myself.”

Earlier this year Patriotic Millionaires, TaxMeNow, Oxfam and another activist group called Millionaires for humanity formed a coalition called Proud to Pay More, and addressed a letter of global leaders during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Signed by hundreds of wealthy people – including heiress Valerie Rockefeller, actor Simon Pegg and director Richard Curtis – the letter reads: “We all know that the ‘trickle down economy’ has not been made a reality. Instead, it has given us stagnant wages, crumbling infrastructure, failing public services and destabilized the very institution of democracy. In conclusion: “We implore you to take this necessary and inevitable step before it is too late. Make your countries proud. Tax the extraordinary wealth.” In 2025, thanks to the emerging movement of millionaire activists, these calls will become even louder.