Why Billionaires Pay So Little Tax

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.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.