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Imagine a small concert venue, maybe 900 people, give or take. That\u2019s relatively the size of a small cruise ship, or the average public high school in the U.S. A group that size collectively holds more wealth than the bottom half of the country combined, because that\u2019s roughly how many billionaires live in the U.S. But a new bill is asking the people in that hypothetical concert venue or high school to chip in, and to bankroll thousand-dollar checks to millions of middle-class Americans.<\/p>\n
Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Ro Khanna introduced the \u201cMake Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act\u201d<\/a> on Monday, a proposed 5% annual wealth tax on individuals with a net worth of $1 billion or more. Sanders estimates a total of 938 billionaires live in the U.S. and hold a collective $8.2 trillion.<\/p>\n That 8.2 trillion won\u2019t only go into the government\u2019s coffers. The proposed bill has some of that revenue going back into your pockets. In its first year, tax revenue would go toward a one-time $3,000 check for every person living in a lower- or middle-income household, or those earning $150,000 or less.<\/p>\n While the legislation faces steep odds given Republican control of the House and Senate, the bill follows a trend of proposals aimed at redistributing billionaire wealth. A major labor union introduced a California billionaire tax ballot initiative<\/a> of similar stature\u2014a 5% tax on those with a net worth of $1 billion or more in the state\u2014though framed as a one-time tax rather than a recurring one. That bill has ignited an exodus from the state, with Google<\/a> cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page among those who have announced<\/a> their departure. The Biden Administration in 2023 introduced a similar bill\u2014a 20% minimum income tax for households with a net worth of $100 million or more\u2014though with little success.<\/p>\n Sanders envisions this bill would be different. The revenue from the following years would be directed toward the \u201cmost pressing crises facing working families,\u201d according to Sanders in a press release introducing the bill, estimated to generate $4.4 trillion within its first decade. Sanders and Khanna said the money would reverse $1.1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, establish a minimum $60,000 salary for public school teachers, and cap parent child care payments at 7% of household income.<\/p>\n \u201cAt a time of unprecedented income and wealth inequality, this legislation demands that the billionaire class in America finally pay their fair share of taxes so that we can create an economy that works for all of us, not just the 1%,\u201d Sanders said in a press release.<\/p>\n Billionaires have increasingly caught the ire of disgruntled Americans, many of whom view the ultrawealthy as a threat to the country, according to a November 2025 Harris poll<\/a>. Even though 60% of Americans say they want to become a billionaire, 53% say billionaires are a threat to democracy, up seven points from when the same question was posed a year prior.\u00a0<\/p>\n Doing the math on the tax<\/strong><\/p>\n Sanders\u2019 press release cites an analysis from Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, researchers University of California, Berkeley. Their report reveals the long-term impact of a 5% wealth tax on America\u2019s 10 richest people, applying the 5% tax to their wealth for every year they\u2019ve been ranked a billionaire. The math shows the wealth of billionaires would essentially halve every year.<\/p>\n