Bezos-And-Blavatnik-Slides.Pdf
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Jeff Bezos (net worth: $114 billion) How he amassed “his” money: ● Founded Amazon.com ● Exploiting working people ○ Amazon is notorious for the dangerous working conditions, long hours, and low pay in its warehouses ● Powering Trump attacks on immigrants ○ Amazon Web Serivces hosts databases used by ICE and CBP to track and imprison migrants ● Driving climate change ○ Amazon provides cloud computing, machine learning, and data services to the oil industry, including BP and ROyal Dutch Shell Jeff Bezos (net worth: $114 billion) How he keeps “his” money: ● Dodges taxes by stashing Amazon’s corporate assets in offshore tax havens ○ Amazon recorded $11.2 billion in profits in 2018 and received a $129 million federal tax rebate ● Pitted communities across the US against each other in a race to the bottom to give the biggest subsidies to Amazon ● Spent millions to oppose a proposed Seattle tax on big employers to fund homelessness services and to try to defeat councilmembers who backed the tax Jeff Bezos (net worth: $114 billion) How he spends “his” money: ● 28th largest landowner in the US ○ Spent $80 million on 3 apartments at 212 Fifth Avenue ○ $10 million estate in Washington ○ Two mansions in Beverly Hills worth $37.35 million ○ 30-acre ranch in Texas ● Owns private space travel company Blue Origin ● Bought the Washington Post for $250 million Jeff Bezos (net worth: $114 billion) How we can tax “his” money: ● Billionaire Wealth Tax ○ Tax on wealth, including unrealized capital gains ● Ultramillionaire Income Tax ○ New 10.32% top PIT rate ● Stock Buyback Tax ○ Hits stunts like his attack on AT&T ● Carried Interest Fairness Fee ○ State tax on his under-taxed fees to investors ● 21st Century Bank Tax ○ State tax on hedge funds ● Yacht & Jet Tax ○ State tax on his next new private jet ● Stock Transfer Tax ○ State tax on huge stock purchases Len Blavatnik (net worth: $18.3 billion) How he amassed “his” money: ● Raiding formerly public businesses after the fall of the Soviet Union ○ Made billions when Russian oil company TNK merged with BP, then billions more when TNK-BP merged with Rosneft ● Invested money from pillaging former Soviet oil companies into chemicals (LyndonBissell), metals (Rusal), and NYC real estate Len Blavatnik (net worth: $18.3 billion) How he keeps “his” money: ● Major political donor ○ $125,000 to Cuomo ○ $1 million to Trump inauguration ○ $2,800 to Joe Biden ○ $1,200 to Pete Buttigieg Len Blavatnik (net worth: $18.3 billion) How he spends “his” money: ● Bought Warner Music for $3.3 billion ● $100 million yacht Odessa II ● Three private jets: a Gulfstream G650, a Gulfstream G550, and a Boeing 737 ● Lavish, Gatsby-esque parties ● Major donor to Harvard, Oxford, Tate Modern art museum, and Carnegie Hall Len Blavatnik (net worth: $18.3 billion) How we can tax “his” money: ● Billionaire Wealth Tax ○ Tax on wealth, including unrealized capital gains ● Ultramillionaire Income Tax ○ New 10.32% top PIT rate ● Stock Buyback Tax ○ Hits stunts like his attack on AT&T ● Carried Interest Fairness Fee ○ State tax on his under-taxed fees to investors ● 21st Century Bank Tax ○ State tax on hedge funds ● Yacht & Jet Tax ○ State tax on his next new private jet ● Stock Transfer Tax ○ State tax on huge stock purchases FOURTEEN TAX-THE-RICH REVENUE PROPOSALS FOR 2020 These measures would raise over $35 billion per year 1. Billionaires Wealth Tax 2. Ultramillionaires Income Tax 3. Pied-à-Terre tax 4. Stock Buyback Tax 5. Carried Interest Fairness Fee 6. New Taxes on Big Corporations 7. Hudson Yards Luxury Land Tax 8. CEO Pay Gap Bill 9. Bills to Kill Luxury Condo Subsidies 10. Corporate Landlord Tax 11. 21st Century Bank Tax 12. Restore the Yachts & Jets Tax 13. Data Tax on the Big Platforms 14. Stock Transfer Tax Learn more at MakeBillionairesPay.info.