London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

The comical billions landed by the tech bosses during Covid

The comical billions landed by the tech bosses during Covid

City Comment: The tech bosses billions are a failure of tax and of regulation
In some ways, the extraordinary billions lately accrued by American tech bosses are just a curiosity.

Something for the rest of us to gawp at, while we analyse share price charts and regret not taking the advice from that bloke in the pub 10 years ago to pile into the stocks.

The amounts of money involved are so ludicrous as to almost be comical.

Certainly, in many cases it is clear the men themselves have no clue what to do with these fortunes.

Jeff Bezos of Amazon has so little idea that he’s been building rockets and firing them into space with him inside.

Elon Musk is so bored he sent one of his own cars into space, partly as a scientific experiment, but mostly just because he could.

Since these fortunes have largely accrued to people who founded their own companies it is tempting to see any complaints as sour grapes.

As the Economist just noted on Apple’s Tim Cook: No other chief executive has created more absolute value for shareholders. So, you should have bought the shares and if you didn’t, that’s just too bad.

There’s something else here though. Merely to compile these words, I used products sold by Apple, Google and Microsoft. I didn’t drive to the office in a Tesla, but I would if I could.

The point is that in many cases these businesses are basically monopolies, they are near impossible to opt out of.

Which in turn makes it difficult for competitors to establish themselves.

So it is tempting to see the fortunes of Bezos and co as at least partly a failure of both regulation and the tax system.

The small amount of taxes the billionaires pay, zero in federal income tax in some cases, is just bad manners.

A recent report from ProPublica estimated that the top 25 billionaires paid a federal tax rate of just 3.4%. Elon Musk has often paid zero federal income tax.

That is in line with the law, because he typically doesn’t take an income – his wealth accumulates in capital, which is taxed differently.

But that’s not an immovable, natural state of affairs, it is a political decision which allows the very rich to play an entirely different game to the rest of us.

All in it together? Not even remotely.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×