Read the full report here.

INTRODUCTION

Descendants of some of America’s richest families are spending millions of dollars on expensive toys, extravagant celebrations, and vanity businesses and careers. In a properly functioning tax system, a larger share of this money would be used to lower costs, improve public services, and expand opportunities for working families. The public needs to know how great wealth is being used by people who didn’t earn it, in ways that might be funny if the consequences weren’t so dire. It is equally as critical that the public be aware of potential reforms to the U.S. tax code that would put that money to better use. As the country prepares to face the “greatest wealth transfer in history,” with trillions in undertaxed fortunes passing to heirs, change to the tax code is urgently needed.

This report profiles six such descendants, a group we have dubbed “Billionaire Nepo Babies”: men and women, from both “new” and “old” money–the one important thing they have in common is access to incredible material plenty and enviable opportunities simply as a result of being born tremendously rich. 

While much of the Billionaire Nepo Baby spending can be considered wasteful but otherwise relatively harmless, that cannot be said for efforts to shape politics through vast campaign contributions that undermine democracy. A recent report from Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) determined that as of late October, just 150 billionaire families–including many Billionaire Nepo Babies–had spent $1.9 billion on the fall elections. The single biggest individual spender was Billionaire Nepo Baby Timothy Mellon, who donated over $172 million. 

The current report explores how a rigged system allows the families of Billionaire Nepo Babies to become so extremely wealthy, keep growing more affluent, and pass that wealth down over generations without being properly taxed–often without being taxed at all. It details sensible and straightforward ways policymakers can close loopholes and end special breaks that enable massive tax avoidance. These changes would help unrig the U.S. tax code, ensure the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share, and raise critical resources to invest in working households.

This report does not suggest that Billionaire Nepo Babies are bad people. But they may be unlikely to realize that what for them is practically spare change–to be used on ever fancier cars, bigger parties, the latest pet project or to protect fortunes politically–could, if adequately taxed and publicly invested, transform the lives of their fellow Americans.

Read the full report here and below.