Billionaires like Bezos, Gates fortunes after Warren, Sanders wealth tax - Business Insider

Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have put forward the two most ambitious plans in the Democratic primary to tax the wealth of the richest Americans, shrink their giant fortunes, and curb their economic power.The level of income inequality in the US is reaching levels not seen since the 1920s, according to researchers, sparking a fierce debate in the Democratic primary over how to narrow it.“At the top, wealth is no longer about insurance, it's really about power — having a lot of wealth allows you to have disproportionate influence on society,” economist Emmanuel Saez told Business Insider.Here's how much smaller the top 11 billionaires' fortunes would've been if Sanders' or Warren's proposed wealth taxes had been around since 1982, the first year Forbes magazine started estimating wealth.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have put forward the two most ambitious plans in the Democratic primary to tax the wealth of the richest Americans and shrink their giant fortunes.Both Sanders and Warren aim to sharply curb the economic power that the super-rich have amassed in recent decades — and use their money to finance new social programs like Medicare for All and tuition-free college to benefit working-class Americans.Research shows the nation's riches are increasingly confined at the top of the economic pyramid.Progressive economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, who have provided economic analysis for both the Warren and Sanders campaigns, found that the 400 richest Americans own more wealth than the 150 million adults in the bottom 60% of wealth distribution, the Washington Post reported.“Wealth for the ordinary American family is safety, it allows you to absorb economic shocks such as losing a job,” Saez told Business Insider. “At the top, wealth is no longer about insurance, it's really about power — having a lot of wealth allows you to have disproportionate influence on society.”