Armand Thiberge, founder of Brevo, at the Port of Sète, March 17, 2023. PASCAL GUYOT / AFP
Every year, at the time of the World Economic Forum in Davos, which started on Monday, January 19, a group of millionaires and billionaires – mostly American – call for heavier taxation on the wealthy. These roughly 400 "Patriotic Millionaires," the name of the advocacy group leading the initiative, state in a joint letter that the surge in inequality since the 1980s has become dangerous for democracy. "If elected representatives of the world's leading economies do not take steps to address the dramatic rise of economic inequality, the consequences will continue to be catastrophic for society," they wrote this year. Among the signatories were Abigail Disney, one of the heirs to the Disney empire; Morris Pearl, a former senior executive at BlackRock, the world's largest asset management firm; and British musician Brian Eno.
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Taxing the ultra-rich returns to France's budget debate
And what about the French billionaires? They stand out for their silence. During the debate on the "Zucman tax," a proposed 2% annual wealth tax on centimillionaires and billionaires, Cécile Duflot wanted to find out where they stand. The former environmentalist minister, now the executive director of Oxfam France, met with "eight or nine" billionaires to gauge their views. The takeaway? "Not all of them were necessarily against extra taxation. This was especially true for those who made their fortunes themselves rather than inheriting them." These self-made men had experienced life before wealth and understood the need for tax justice. However, none were willing to speak out publicly. "They don't want any trouble," explained Duflot.
