Wealth Inequality and Billionaires

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is introducing the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act of 2026, a federal wealth-tax bill that would levy a 2% annual tax on household and trust net worth above $50 million and an additional 1% surtax on billionaire wealth. The proposal also includes a 40% “exit tax” on people worth more than $50 million who renounce U.S. citizenship, an explicit attempt to block ultra-rich Americans from dodging the levy by moving abroad. UC Berkeley economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman estimate the measure would raise about $6.2 trillion over 10 years—more than double their projection for Warren’s similar 2021 plan—reflecting the rapid run-up in billionaire fortunes, now pegged at $7.8 trillion for 905 U.S. billionaires. Warren says the revenue could fund cheaper health care, child care, paid leave, and tuition-free community college, while Rep. Pramila Jayapal and other House Democrats are backing a companion bill in a Congress where the measure is unlikely to pass but will sharpen the 2026 fight over inequality and tax fairness. The article notes that, despite strong public polling for higher taxes on the rich and new state-level millionaire taxes in places like Massachusetts and Washington, research shows the 400 wealthiest Americans currently pay lower effective tax rates than the rest of the country, underscoring how far Warren’s plan would push the federal code from its status quo.