Hi Reader,

The wealth gap in America has been widening for decades. For the last two years, we’ve been investigating and exposing how America’s billionaires are using their wealth to avoid paying taxes, influence policy and accumulate even more money. Our hope is that shining a light on this important information will spark a national conversation, rooted in facts, about how our tax system works and whether everyone is paying their fair share.

We’ve exposed how mega billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett exploit the current tax system to pay little to no federal income tax (in fact, Bezos actually received a $4,000 tax credit for his children in 2011). Many billionaires’ hobbies and side businesses, such as horse racing or owning a professional sports team, offer huge tax write-offs that allow them to pay little or no income taxes for as much as a decade at a time. We’ve also explained how more than half of America’s 100 richest people exploit special trusts, allowing them to pass their fortunes onto their heirs without paying estate taxes, costing the government untold billions of dollars. And our latest story uses never-before-seen IRS records to examine dozens of cases where high-level corporate executives made millions of dollars through timely trades of competitors’ stocks.

Investigations like these are time-consuming and expensive. We’re able to produce this kind of journalism because of readers like you. As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on donations from individuals for the majority of our funding. Today, I’m asking you to join ProPublica with a donation of any amount.

Give today and stand up for powerful journalism that shines a light on stories that make a real difference.

Thanks so much,
Jill Shepherd
Proud ProPublican