Christian Hartmann/Reuters
- Nearly 400 wealthy individuals urged leaders at Davos to impose higher taxes on the superrich.
- The open letter, signed by Mark Ruffalo and Abigail Disney, targets interference by the wealthy.
- Oxfam said this week that a record number of billionaires were created last year.
Nearly 400 people who say they are "a person of wealth" signed an open letter calling for global leaders to increase taxes on the superrich.
Signatories of the letter, which was addressed to leaders at the World Economic Forum's Davos conference this week, include actor Mark Ruffalo, film producer and activist Abigail Disney, and musician Brian Eno.
The letter said that a few ultrawealthy people are negatively influencing nearly every aspect of society.
"A handful of global oligarchs with extreme wealth have bought up our democracies; taken over our governments; gagged the freedom of our media; placed a stranglehold on technology and innovation; deepened poverty and social exclusion; and accelerated the breakdown of our planet," the letter read.
They said that higher taxes, on people — including themselves — was the solution.
"As our elected representatives—whether it's those of you at Davos, local councillors, city mayors, or regional leaders—it's your duty to deliver it," it said. "So tax us. Tax the super rich."
The annual WEF conference has gathered some of the world's richest and most powerful people in the Swiss mountain town.
Business Insider tracked at least 157 private jets that arrived near Davos, using data from ADS-B Exchange and JetSpy. They included airplanes belonging to Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Jets from companies like Aramco, BlackRock, Blackstone, Citigroup, Google, HP, JPMorgan Chase, Lockheed Martin, and the quantitative hedge fund Two Sigma also arrived in the area.
Trump: The US would 'lose a lot of money'
In April, President Donald Trump said he wouldn't mind paying more in taxes himself, but he's not convinced that he should raise taxes on millionaires.
"I think it would be very disruptive, because a lot of the millionaires would leave the country," Trump said. "The old days, they left states. They go from one state to the other. Now with transportation so quick and so easy, they leave countries."
Trump said the US would "lose a lot of money" if the country raised taxes on millionaires.
Oxfam reported this week that a record number of billionaires were created last year, bringing the global total to more than 3,000 for the first time. Billionaire wealth has increased by 81% since 2020, the study found.
The tax petition was organized by the nonprofits Patriotic Millionaires, Millionaires for Humanity, and development charity Oxfam. The letter is published on a website that allows more people who identify as "a person of wealth" to also sign their names.