The Historical Context of Wealth and Taxation in the U.S.

Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg, Elon Musk and George Soros are household names. They are among the wealthiest people in the United States.

But a recent report by ProPublica has found another thing that separates them from regular Americans citizens: They have paid almost nothing in taxes.

Why does the U.S. tax system let that happen?

Guest: Jonathan Weisman, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times. 

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Background reading: 

• An analysis by ProPublica showed that from 2014 to 2018, the nation’s richest executives paid just a fraction of their wealth in taxes — $13.6 billion in federal income taxes during a time when their collective net worth reportedly increased by $401 billion.
• The exposé has refocused attention on the tax code and how it applies to the superrich.

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