Patriotic Millionaires

➡️ PATRIOTIC MILLIONAIRES – I'm a Millionaire, Tax Me More!

Founded in 2010, Patriotic Millionaires is a nonpartisan organisation made up of wealthy individuals who advocate for economic justice and tax reform. There are two branches of the organisation, one in the U.S. and one in the UK, both of which now include hundreds of members.

High-profile supporters include Abigail Edna Disney, the heir to the Walt Disney fortune, city trader turned activist Gary Stevenson, former BlackRock managing director Morris Pearl, musician Brian Eno, investor Julia Davies, and screenwriter Richard Curtis.

Their mission is to address income inequality by fostering a fairer economic system. They lobby for policies such as corporate accountability, transparent campaign funding, and a living wage.

Jump straight to our resources on ➡️ Patriotic Millionaires

Explore our comprehensive guides on -

• Economic Inequality

• Tax the Rich – UK & U.S.A

• Gary Stevenson

• Tax Dodging & Tax Avoidance by the Wealthy - UK

• Tax Dodging & Tax Cuts for the Wealthy – U.S.A

• Poverty vs Wealth: A Social Justice Issue

"Those with the most should be told to pay their fair share - just like millions of working people do everyday - to help get our country and the economy back on its feet. Seven in 10 UK millionaires support higher taxes on the super-rich and three-quarters of Brits agree with them" - Julia Davies.

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Tax the Rich UK

In the UK, the lowest 10% of earners have an effective tax rate of 44%, more than twice as high as that of those in the top 0.01%.

This is because income is taxed at a higher rate than wealth, meaning that those who gained their wealth through investments or rising property values (the majority of millionaires) pay a lower percentage of tax.

• In 2022/23, more than 1 in 5 people in the UK were living in poverty – 14.3 million people.

• The wealth of the richest 1% of households is greater than that of the entire bottom 80% of the population.

• The covid-19 pandemic saw the number of billionaires in the UK increase by 20%.

Public support for a UK wealth tax is overwhelming, with 78% advocating for an annual wealth tax for those with assets worth over £10 million. Even just a 2% tax increase on those with assets over £10 million could raise £22 billion per year. This is enough to cover the average salary cost of more than 600,000 nurses a year.

Tax the Rich U.S.A

Just like the UK, the current U.S. tax system rewards wealth over work, thanks to a tax code that favours income from wealth. As a result, billionaires pay a smaller tax rate than ordinary working Americans.

The wealthiest 400 families in the U.S. pay an average tax rate of 8%, while the average American taxpayer pays 13%.

• The official poverty rate in 2023 was 11% equating to 37 million people.

• The top 10% of earners own 67% of total wealth in the U.S.

• There are 748 billionaires living in the U.S. whose wealth increased by 88% in the last four years.

• Musk, Zuckerberg and Bezos combined have more wealth than the entire bottom half of American society.

• More than 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.

• There are 800,000 homeless people living on the streets.

• The U.S. has the highest rate of childhood poverty among developed nations.

With this in mind, 64% of Americans support a wealth tax on the super-rich. Over the years, the progressivity of the U.S. tax policy has dramatically declined – in 1950, the super-rich paid around 70% of their income in taxes, by 2018, this figure had gradually been reduced to around 23%. To serve the interests of the super-rich, the U.S. tax system has become much more regressive.

In 2017, the U.S. government is estimated to have lost $135 billion to corporate tax loopholes and avoidance strategies. Of America's largest corporations, 55 paid no federal corporate income tax in 2021 in a decades-long trend of corporate tax avoidance.

The 2017 Trump tax law was so skewed towards the rich that it allowed tax cuts of $60,000 for those in the top 1%; meanwhile, those in the bottom 60% received an average tax cut of $500! A tax proposal by Biden, the Billionaire Minimum Income Tax, would have imposed a 25% tax on all wealth over $100 million and applied to only 0.01% of Americans, but it never made it through Congress.

What Reforms Progressive Millionaires Propose?

Through public advocacy, media appearances, and collaboration with lawmakers, Patriotic Millionaires work to shift public discourse and influence legislation. They aim to create a fairer economic system that benefits everyone, not just the privileged few, by addressing systemic inequalities and promoting policies that ensure economic opportunity and security for everyone.

Some of their priorities include -

• Higher taxes on the wealthy, which ensure that the most affluent Americans pay their fair share.

• Closing loopholes that allow tax avoidance and implementing a more progressive tax system overall.

• End multinational corporation tax evasion and profit shifting to tax havens.

• Properly tax income gained from wealth (investment income/inheritance).

• A much higher taxation rate on private jets.

• Paying people a fair living wage - Reduce poverty, boost consumer spending, and stimulate economic growth.

• Campaign finance reform to limit the power of wealthy individuals and corporations in political decision-making. They seek greater transparency in party funding and to reduce the considerable influence that money has on elections and policy-making.

• Introduce a gas and oil windfall tax.

• Put an end to fossil fuel subsidies and redirect the money into public spending.

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The Patriotic Millionaires have successfully built a coalition of wealthy individuals who use their influence and resources to lobby for progressive economic policies. They serve as excellent role models for others and provide the platform for them to easily follow suit.

Their persistent advocacy for greater economic equality, even at their own expense, has raised public awareness of the serious economic disparities and the threat to democracy that big money poses. Let's continue to push for economic fairness and social justice for everyone.

Tax the rich. Pay the people. Spread the power!

Author: Rachael Mellor, 25.10.25 licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

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