The Moral Choice Facing Billionaires: Hoard Wealth or Create a Golden Age
Philip Kotler
Craig Newmark, the billionaire who created Craigslist, recently said “that’s too much money for anyone to have, so I’m giving most of it away to people and causes that need it. It makes no sense to me that others with this kind of money would criticize anyone doing this.”
Craig did the sensible thing. He joined the Giving Pledge, an organization started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett in 2010. Members pledge to give most of their money away before they die or through their will. So far, 250 billionaires from 30 countries have joined the Giving Pledge. This represents a great deal of money, so it sounds like good news.
However, today there are an estimated 3,428 billionaires living in 80 countries. This means that only 7% (250/3428) of the world’s billionaires signed the Giving Pledge. Yes, many non-pledging billionaires may also be giving a lot of philanthropy. However we don’t know much about what they are giving. I would make the case that we should raise the income tax rate on billionaires and even add a wealth tax.
The irony is that most billionaires spend a great deal on campaigns to oppose increasing taxes on the rich. In fact, many billionaires back campaigns to lower taxes on the rich.
Billionaires give many reasons for holding on to most of their wealth.
1. They earned the money. They didn’t rob anyone.
2. They need the money to keep growing their businesses and make still more money.
3. They have large families and need to share their wealth with many family members and friends.
4. They don’t trust the government to use additional tax money wisely.
5. They believe that there will always be poor people.
6. They face high-cost personal and lifestyle expectations that become embedded over time.
7. They like the power that their money gives them on influencing public policies and citizens.
Yet There Are Also Some Billionaires Who Favor Passing Higher Taxes on the Rich
Craig Newmark is not the only billionaire favoring higher taxes on the rich. Here are other billionaires who also share this view.
· George Soros — supports redistribution and progressive taxation.
· Abigail Disney -– outspoken critic of extreme wealth inequality.
· Nick Hanauer -– advocates higher taxes on the rich to save capitalism.
· MacKinzie Scott — rapidly distributing billions with minimal bureaucracy.
· Melinda French Gates — supports organizations providing healthcare for women.
· Patriotic Millionaires -– collective advocating higher taxes on themselves.
Some Possible Solution Paths
· Voluntary Plan
a. Expand Giving Pledge participation.
b. Improve transparency in philanthropy.
c. Encourage “living giving” (not just posthumous).
· Policy Plan
a. Progressive income tax reform.
b. Wealth tax (with enforcement clarity).
c. Stronger inheritance tax.
· Innovation Path
a. Billionaires could allocate predefined shares of their wealth tax into transparent global funds — health, education, climate, food systems — tracked publicly for impact.
Conclusion
Oxfam is a global non-governmental organization that works to address the root causes of poverty and inequality. Oxfam’s January 2026 report, “Resisting the Rule of the Rich: Protecting Freedom from Billionaire Power,” argues that extreme wealth concentration is increasingly shaping political decisions in ways that benefit the ultra-wealthy. Today’s richest billionaires control more wealth than billions of people combined. Elon Musk is likely to become the world’s first trillionaire.
This concentration of wealth is not only making life less affordable. It is a concentration of power that can shape laws, markets, and public priorities. It is reshaping economic opportunity, social cohesion, and democratic governance.
The question is no longer whether billionaires can make a difference in human well-being. The question is whether they will. If they choose wisely, they have the power not only to reduce inequality — but to help create a true golden age of humanity.
If even a fraction of billionaire wealth was systematically directed toward global health, education, climate resilience, and poverty reduction, humanity could enter a new era — one defined not by scarcity and inequality, but by expanded opportunity, longer lives, and shared prosperity.
