Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren isn’t backing down from her fight against billionaires — in fact, the Democratic senator from Massachusetts is now selling $25 “billionaire tears” mugs on her campaign website.
“In November 2019, billionaire and former Goldman Sachs executive Leon Cooperman (who as recently as 2017 settled with the SEC on insider-trading charges) was brought to tears on live television while discussing the prospect that a President Elizabeth Warren might require him to pay his fair share in taxes,” the description on the website reads.
“Savor a warm, slightly salty beverage of your choice in this union-made mug as you contemplate all the good a wealth tax could do: universal childcare, student debt cancellation, universal free college, and more.”
The mug is the latest move by Warren to troll billionaires who have been critical of her wealth tax plan. Last week, she unveiled a “Calculator for the Billionaires” on her website, which features sections for various individuals at the top of the income bracket, like Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and the previously mentioned Leon Cooperman. Based on the calculator, Cooperman would pay $151 million under Warren’s wealth tax.
Responding to a new Warren ad taking aim at specific billionaires, Cooperman told CNBC: “In my opinion she represents the worst in politicians as she’s trying to demonize wealthy people because there are more poor people than wealthy people. As far as the accusations of insider trading, I won the case. She’s disgraceful. She doesn’t know who the f--- she’s tweeting. I gave away more in the year than she has in her whole f----ing lifetime.”
‘I’ve paid over $10 billion in taxes’
Warren’s proposed ultra-millionaire tax would place an annual 2% tax on every dollar a household has above $50 million, which would increase to 6% for households with more than $1 billion. Warren has stated that the revenue generated from this tax would go towards other programs of hers, including Medicare for All, expanded Social Security, and universal childcare.
Several billionaires, including Cooperman, Gates, Dimon, and Mark Cuban, have been outspoken about their opinions on this tax.
“I’ve paid over $10 billion in taxes,” Gates said. “If I had to pay $20 billion, it’s fine. But when you say I should pay $100 billion, OK then I’m starting to do a little math about what I have left over. You really want the incentive system to be there, and you can go a long way without threatening that.”
Meanwhile, in a previous interview with Yahoo Finance, Cuban said: “Bernie Sanders has a book business, you know, Elizabeth Warren buys and sells houses — or did. If they would have had the level of success that I and others have had, I don’t think they’d be complaining as much.”
Yet, among the general public, there appears to be growing support for some kind of wealth tax. According to a Politico/Morning Consult poll, 76% of registered voters think the wealthy should pay more taxes. And a Fox News survey found that 70% of Americans, including more than half of Republicans, are in support of raising taxes on individuals who earn more than $10 million.
Adriana is an associate editor for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @adrianambells.
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