John,
On April 9, following Trump’s announcement of a tariff “pause”, the beaten-down stock market rebounded. And just like that, the country’s 500 richest people gained a combined $304 billion in a single day.[1]
That’s the largest one-day gain in the history of the billionaire class.
Elon Musk alone walked away $36 billion richer. Not because he created anything new. Not because he earned it. But because the system is rigged to reward people like him and punish everyone else. And that windfall? It will go untaxed. Unless Congress acts.
We need legislation that finally taxes the annual wealth gains of billionaires: the stocks, the assets, the hidden fortunes that grow year after year without ever being taxed.
It’s time for lawmakers to step up. Add your name to demand Congress introduce and pass legislation that taxes the annual gains in billionaire wealth.
This is the issue at the core of America’s inequality crisis: billionaires are allowed to build dynastic wealth through untaxed gains while working people are taxed on every paycheck, every hour worked, every dollar.
Previous proposals by our champions in Congress have shown us the impact this kind of reform could have: closing the billionaire tax loophole could raise more than half a trillion dollars over a decade, funds that could be invested in public education, affordable housing, universal childcare, climate action, and so much more.
There is no justification for a tax system that lets Elon Musk make $36 billion in a day and pay nothing on it, even as Congress simultaneously seeks to cut food assistance and healthcare access for working people in order to fund even more tax cuts for billionaires.
This broken tax system is the foundation of an economy built on inequality and it’s being protected, day after day, by congressional inaction.
Tell lawmakers: Introduce and pass legislation to tax billionaire wealth gains.
Thank you for standing with us in this crucial fight,
John Foti
Legislative Director
Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund
[1] Billionaires Score Best-Ever Day as Stocks Soar on Tariff Pause
[2] BillionairesTax.org
-- David's email --
John,
Last week, America’s 500 richest people grew their wealth by $304 billion, setting the record for largest single-day gain ever recorded. Elon Musk alone added $36 billion to his fortune.[1]
What triggered this bonanza? Donald Trump telling his supporters to buy stocks just before he announced a tariff “pause”. After a deep dive earlier in the week, the stock market surged. And because the richest 1% of households owns most of the market and were given a heads up by President Trump, they cashed in. Not by lifting a finger. Not by doing a day’s work. But by simply existing at the top of a rigged system that rewards wealth over work.
It’s time for that to change. On this Tax Day, Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund is demanding that Congress introduce and pass legislation to tax the wealth gains of billionaires, so the richest Americans finally pay their fair share.
Previous proposals by our champions in Congress, including versions of a Billionaire Minimum Income Tax and Billionaires Income Tax, would ensure that the ultra-wealthy are taxed on their income regardless of whether they sell their assets or not. Each of these bills would raise more than half a trillion dollars over the next decade, allowing us to invest in working families, including in housing, healthcare, childcare, and more.[2]
And most importantly, they would restore basic fairness to a system that’s now rigged so completely it allows billionaires to grow richer by the day without contributing a dime back to the country that made them rich.
It’s time for the richest Americans to be taxed not just when they choose to sell, but when they profit. This Tax Day, tell Congress: introduce and pass legislation to tax billionaire wealth gains.
This is the heart of the crisis: our tax system treats asset growth as untouchable while immediately collecting taxes on the wages of working families. And Congress has failed, year after year, to fix it.
Under current law, billionaires will pay nothing in taxes on last week's record-setting windfall. So while working Americans are taxed on every paycheck, billionaires avoid taxes on most of their income simply by not selling their stocks.
This status quo is unsustainable. As billionaires hoard untaxed wealth, they fund political campaigns that protect their advantages, rewrite the rules of the economy, and dismantle public institutions brick by brick. In the 2024 election alone, just 100 billionaire families spent $2.6 billion to influence the presidential and congressional races, securing policy influence while paying effective tax rates far below those of working Americans.[3]
What does it mean when $36 billion can appear in one man’s bank account overnight, and no tax bill ever arrives? It means we’re no longer living in a democracy, we’re living in an oligarchy propped up by a broken tax code.
Congress must act now. Taxing the wealth gains of billionaires is the most direct way to rebalance our economy, reduce inequality, and restore trust in a system built to serve the rich.
Thank you for demanding Congress act to introduce and pass legislation that finally taxes billionaire wealth.
David Kass
Executive Director
Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund
[1] Billionaires Score Best-Ever Day as Stocks Soar on Tariff Pause
[2] BillionairesTax.org
[3] Billionaires Buying Elections: They've Come To Collect
