Musk Opposes Tax on Billionaires; Sanders Says They’ll Pay Only 5%

The richest person in the world and one of the most well-known figures leading the cause against creating more people like him have many differing views on taxing the ultra-wealthy.

Sanders, along with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), introduced a billionaire tax earlier this month and suggested there are only 938 billionaires in the country who, combined, hold a net worth of $8.2 trillion. (Photo: Molly Riley, The White House Flickr) 

But now, Elon Musk and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), two men on opposite ends of the ideological spectrum, are using the same math to make opposing arguments for how much billionaires should be taxed and how that money should be allocated, Catherina Gionio reported for Fortune.

In Musk’s view, collecting every cent the 938 billionaires rake in pales in comparison to the federal debt, which is now hurtling toward $39 trillion and counting.

“Even if you tax every billionaire in America at 100%, it barely makes a dent in the national debt,” Musk wrote on X in 2023. “In the end, the government will be forced to tax everyone to pay the debt.”

Sanders agrees—but he is not looking to tax billionaires for all they are worth, nor is he trying to eliminate the debt.

Instead, he wants enough to give nearly three-quarters of the nation a substantial check, offset cuts to federal health programs, and fund social services.

Sanders, along with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), introduced a billionaire tax earlier this month and suggested there are only 938 billionaires in the country who, combined, hold a net worth of $8.2 trillion.

Simple math would support Musk’s logic: $8.2 trillion would barely cover a fifth of the national debt. But that is not what Sanders and Khanna are proposing.

The two put forward the “Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act,” which proposes an annual 5% wealth tax on individuals with a net worth of $1 billion or more.

Sanders estimates the bill would generate $4.4 trillion over its first decade. In the first year, that revenue would fund a one-time $3,000 check for every American in a lower- or middle-income household, defined as those earning $150,000 or less annually, or roughly 74% of the nation.