Nearly 400 millionaires and billionaires from 24 countries are demanding Davos leaders tax them more: ‘Tax us. Tax the super rich.’
While figures from U.S. president Donald Trump to CEO Jensen Huang arrive in the Swiss town of Davos to deliberate on global affairs, a group of the ultra-wealthy are already raising the alarm. Hundreds of millionaires and billionaires have released a letter timed for the World Economic Forum, urging conference leaders to combat rampant wealth inequality through taxation.
“Millionaires like us refuse to stay silent. It’s time to take a stand. Tax us, and ensure the next fifty years deliver on the promise of progress for all,” the letter states.
“Extreme wealth has granted excessive control to those who gamble with our secure future for their own outrageous gains. Now is the time to end that control and reclaim our future.”
To date, nearly 400 millionaires and billionaires from 24 countries have signed the letter condemning extreme wealth, including figures such as Hollywood actor, and, along with real estate developer Jeffrey Gural.
The open letter is part of a “Time to Win” campaign, led by wealth redistribution organizations including, , and Oxfam. It criticizes wealthy global oligarchs who have “bought out” democracies, worsened poverty, stifled tech innovation, curbed press freedom, and overall “accelerated the breakdown of our planet.” After all, 77% of millionaires from G20 nations believe extremely wealthy individuals purchase political influence, and 71% think the wealthy can significantly sway elections, according to a report for Patriotic Millionaires.
The wealthy signatories of the Time to Win campaign propose a straightforward solution: “Tax us. Tax the super rich.”
“As millionaires standing in solidarity with all people, we demand this,” the open letter continues. “And as our elected representatives—whether you’re at Davos, local council members, city mayors, or regional leaders—it’s your duty to make it happen.
Stars and billionaires are calling out the super-rich for their lack of generosity
As the world of wealth and inequality reaches record highs, some leaders cannot remain silent. Celebrities and the ultra-wealthy haven’t only sent a message to those hoarding money via the Time to Win letter—some have even confronted billionaires directly, questioning their very existence.
“If you’re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire? No hate, but c’mon, give your money away, folks,” Eilish said at the WSJ Magazine Innovator Awards, with mogul, , in attendance.
Even the most philanthropic members of the ultra-wealthy group are cautious about their peers’ lack of charity. Billionaires have launched their own initiatives such as, , and Bill Gates’, which drew over 250 billionaires who pledged to donate at least half their wealth during their lifetimes or in their wills. Yet these efforts have largely fallen short. Last year, French Gates noted that signatories haven’t given enough; and in a letter to shareholders, Buffett highlighted that billionaires aren’t following through.
“Early on, I considered various large-scale philanthropic plans. Despite my persistence, these didn’t prove feasible,” “Over the years, I’ve also witnessed poorly planned wealth transfers by political opportunists, dynastic selections, and, yes, incompetent or eccentric philanthropists.”
Billionaire and millionaire wealth is on the rise
There are more people with vast wealth than ever before, and this is driving an equity crisis at the lower end of the economic spectrum.
In 2024 alone, the U.S. created 379,000 —over 1,000 millionaires daily—as the share of Americans in the ultra-wealthy group increased by 1.5%, per a 2025 report from investment bank UBS. This cohort held around $107 trillion in total wealth by year-end: more than four times the amount they had at the start of the millennium.
In 2000, there were just 13.27 million ordinary millionaires, but by the end of 2024, this number grew to 52 million people worldwide.
Though it may seem that staggering wealth is spreading to more individuals, it’s primarily concentrating at the top. America’s top 20% of household earners—with an average net worth of $4.3 million—held roughly 71% of the U.S.’s total wealth by the end of 2024, based on 2025 data from the Federal Reserve.
Meanwhile, the bottom half of American households, with an average wealth of about $60,000, owned just 2.5% of the nation’s wealth. For most U.S. citizens, joining the millionaire ranks—and even more so, the billionaire group—is a complete fantasy.