Bernie Sanders has said that ’People can make it on $999 million’

Senator Bernie Sanders, a longtime advocate for a wealth tax, has expressed the view that the U.S. government should seize all earnings exceeding $1 billion.

During an interview on HBO Max's show "Who's Talking to Chris Wallace," the senator from Vermont was asked about his long-held belief that billionaires should not exist. When questioned whether he was suggesting that the government should confiscate all earnings beyond $999 million, Sanders responded affirmatively, saying, "Yeah."

Sanders went on to say, "You may disagree with me, but I think people can make it on $999 million. I think that they can survive just fine."

Earlier this year, Sanders authored a book titled "It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism." On Friday's show, he addressed questions about whether billionaires could contribute positively to the economy by creating jobs. Sanders argued that a healthy economy does not require a small number of individuals to possess more wealth than the bottom half of the American population. He further stated that if he had his way, those earning "a whole lot of money" would be required to "pay a whole lot of money."

Sanders has consistently championed the idea of imposing significantly higher taxes on the wealthiest segments of American society. During his 2019 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, he proposed a wealth tax targeting the richest 0.1% of American households—those with a net worth exceeding $32 million. Under his plan, a new annual tax would be levied, with the tax rate increasing in accordance with net worth.

For example, a married couple with a net worth of $32 million would have been subject to a 1% wealth tax, while wealth exceeding $10 billion would have faced an 8% tax rate.

Sanders argued that his proposal would reduce the wealth of billionaires by half over a 15-year period, thereby significantly diminishing the concentration of wealth and power held by this elite group.