September 2025
Welcome to the first edition of The Billionaire Bulletin, brought to you by Tax the Greedy Billionaires. Each month, we’ll explore how extreme concentrations of wealth are distorting our economy and eroding our democracy. Join our mailing list to get this newsletter in your inbox every month.
A WINNING MESSAGE
Our latest poll with Impact Research confirms that taxing billionaires is one of the most unifying and popular policies heading into the 2026 midterms. Roughly three-in-four likely voters in battleground congressional districts and in key states like Michigan and Ohio support raising taxes on billionaires.
Key swing audiences—including undecideds (71% support / 46% strongly), Independents (75% support / 53% strongly), and Latino voters (75% support / 58% strongly)—are all overwhelmingly in favor of “raising taxes on billionaires.” Support among Democratic primary voters—a key measure of base enthusiasm—is nearly universal, with 94% supporting it, and 82% doing so strongly. Over two-thirds (69%) of Democratic primary voters agree that billionaires drive up the cost of living for everyone else.
BILLIONAIRES BEHAVING BADLY
The looming threat of government shutdowns has become an increasingly normal part of the political process over the past 30 years. And while the discourse often focuses on the political brinkmanship, pundits have largely failed to convey how billionaires have dragged us into this new era of shutdown politics – and how they benefit from leveraging expiring government funding to push for reductions in government services and regulatory abilities.
With another potential shutdown on the horizon, lawmakers may find themselves back in the same difficult position of agreeing to draconian spending reductions in order to keep the government open. Why does this keep happening? And who stands to benefit from shutdown brinksmanship and governing chaos?
Billionaires, of course.
Just before August recess, House Republicans advanced a little-noticed government funding bill that would gut the IRS’ budget by $2.8 billion—slashing enforcement funding from $5.4 billion to $3 billion. The cut is designed to prevent the agency from cracking down on wealthy tax cheats who fail to pay approximately $160 billion in taxes each year.
But that’s just one example. Historically, regulators, regulations, laws or government functions that eat into a billionaire’s bottom line—from safety and environmental inspections to investigations into corporate misconduct— are often delayed, cut back, or scrapped altogether during shutdown negotiations. And while the specific demands in any given shutdown crisis may vary, the crisis nearly always resolves with lawmakers acceding to spending cuts that weaken regulatory capacity to benefit wealthy industries at the expense of everyday Americans.
The constant cycle of shutdown brinksmanship also drives public distrust in the government’s ability to solve problems as federal workers are less able to effectively protect public air travel, ensure public food and drug safety, provide effective customer service to Americans, and more.
We can’t break this cycle until lawmakers get serious about reducing the power and influence of billionaires. That means supporting efforts to tax the ultra-wealthy in order to chip away at their ability to shape our democracy and distort our economy.
HARD TRUTH
In 1990, before the modern era of shutdown politics, America was home to 66 billionaires who controlled $240 billion. Today? Over 800 billionaires hoard over $7 trillion. That’s a 28-fold explosion in wealth that left the rest of us behind.
BILLIONAIRE BLIGHT OF THE MONTH
The AI arms race is paying out like a slot machine, for the rich at least. 498 private AI companies with valuations of $1 billion or more boast a combined value of $2.7 trillion. Bloomberg estimated in March that four of the largest AI companies have created at least 15 new billionaires!
But that’s no consolation to everyday Americans who are already feeling the effects of the AI boom. Beyond the spread of disinformation and the growing economic uncertainty (particularly for new college graduates), AI is already raising prices. The incredible energy demands of data centers are driving up electricity costs for millions of Americans.
WHAT IS THE BILLIONAIRE BULLETIN?
This monthly newsletter aims to highlight the many ways in which extreme wealth concentration threatens our economy, democracy, climate, and more. In each issue, we tackle timely topics by pulling back the curtain and exposing how billionaires are rigging the system against ordinary Americans.
Here are some additional ways to get engaged:
- Encourage your friends and colleagues to sign up for our newsletter here.
- Visit our website for fact sheets and research.
For questions, contact us at [email protected]
