August 2026
Welcome to The Billionaire Bulletin, brought to you by Tax the Greedy Billionaires and the Excessive Wealth Institute. Each month, we explore how excessive wealth concentration is distorting our economy and eroding our democracy. Join our mailing list to get this newsletter in your inbox every month.
THE BILLIONAIRES HOLDING OUR DEMOCRACY HOSTAGE
Americans have had it with billionaires. New polling shows that 53% of voters, across party lines, see billionaires as exploitative, rather than innovative, while another 64% of respondents believe they’re closer to homelessness than they are to becoming a billionaire. An overwhelming 77% of voters, regardless of party affiliation, support raising taxes on billionaires. The vast majority of Americans understand that the system is rigged against them in favor of the ultra-wealthy, and now the ultra-wealthy are proving it with massive election spending designed to maintain that status quo.
With the midterm elections just 77 days away, a flood of dark money and spending from America’s billionaires is impacting everything from what voters see on their screens to what policies candidates are championing on the campaign trail.
Take California, where Google co-founder Sergey Brin has already spent $102 million fighting the billionaire wealth tax on the ballot this November. His spending is part of at least $331 million injected into the California election cycle so far by just the top four billionaire political spenders, a 147% increase over the 2024 election. That’s just four billionaires in a single state, but this same story is playing out nationwide. The world’s first trillionaire, Elon Musk has authorized his super PAC to spend $100 to $120 million on voter turnout in another eight states—further eroding the country’s principle of one person, one vote.
So far, the 50 biggest donors have already poured over $1.64 billion into this election cycle and are now promising to open the floodgates as more campaigns and candidates back policies that would rein in their power. This tidal wave of campaign cash is yet another example of billionaires weaponizing their wealth against us in order to protect the inequality that has benefited them. Over $1 billion of these contributions have gone to conservative candidates and causes, which should come as no surprise considering the Trump administration’s signature victory is a massive tax cut for the ultra-rich. Protecting that bottom line seems to be key.
This flagrant use of excessive wealth to influence the political process is a dam about to burst, and it underscores the dire need to break up the stranglehold billionaires have over our economy and democracy. Unless we act now, the unprecedented wealth the billionaire class hoards—and the power that comes with it—will let them continue controlling everything from our elections to what we pay for groceries, housing, health care, and energy.
That’s precisely why Congress must implement a robust, nationwide wealth tax—one that reduces the wealth and power of the ultra-wealthy so no one can wash away the will of the people.
BILLIONAIRE BLIGHT OF THE MONTH
The number of Amazon workers on federal aid nearly tripled between 2020 and 2025. During this same period, Jeff Bezos’ net worth nearly doubled, from $113 billion in 2020 to $215 billion in 2025. Walmart was also one of the top five employers of working adult SNAP and Medicaid recipients, while three members of the Walton family currently find themselves among the 20 richest people in the world (numbers 13, 14, and 15 as of this writing). While billionaires are hoarding unprecedented wealth, the employees who helped them build their fortunes are paid wages so low they need to be subsidized by the American taxpayers.
HARD TRUTH
Health care has grown so expensive that a staggering 92% of Americans have abandoned or delayed medical care because they couldn’t afford it. Americans have $220 billion in medical debt, which averages out to around $959 per adult. The skyrocketing cost of health care isn’t an accident, it’s price gouging and profiteering. Approximately 488 US hospitals are owned by private equity firms, with one firm, Apollo Global Management, controlling 235 hospitals across 37 states. Hospitals acquired by private equity reduce staff, degrade essential services, and provide worse patient outcomes all while investors rake in profits.
NEWSWORTHY NUGGETS
- “Voters Think Billionaires Earned Their Wealth Through Exploitation, Not Hard Work” – Data for Progress
- “Momentum Grows for Billionaire Wealth Tax in California” – Newsweek
- “Billionaire tax picks up key endorsements from Democratic, labor groups” – San Francisco Examiner
- “Does the Washington Post Want Democracy to Die in Darkness?” – Mother Jones
- “A nuclear deal for the Saudis. A media blackout for Kushner’s corruption.” – Popular Information
- “Shifting left, Democrats see universal health care, taxing the rich as ‘essential,’ Reuters/Ipsos poll finds” – Reuters
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