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American perception of billionaires is changing, new research from The Harris Poll Thought Leadership Practice finds
NEW YORK, Aug. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Most Americans want to be billionaires, but a lot also hate billionaires. Americans think billionaires are good for the country, but also think they don’t do enough to make America better, and may even be blocking people from attaining the American dream. Many think they can someday be billionaires – but even more think billionaires should pay higher taxes. Those are among the findings of a Harris Poll Thought Leadership study being released today.
The poll asked Americans nationwide what they thought of billionaires, and it reveals a love-hate affair with the extraordinarily rich, a disconnect on wealth and what should be done with it.
The poll results show that America is conflicted about income inequality, stemming from our traditional admiration of economic success and our belief in an obligation to help the less fortunate, said Libby Rodney, futurist and chief strategy officer at The Harris Poll Thought Leadership Practice.
“The self-made journey of wealth accumulation has always been foundational to the American dream, once with millionaires and now billionaires,” Rodney said. “From an individual point of view, many Americans still want to become billionaires, but from a collective sensibility, the story is shifting as billionaires are being painted as a barrier to Americans achieving their personal dreams, while economic inequality grows to a national crisis point.”
The distribution of wealth in America is more slanted to the wealthy than any time in modern history. The top 1 percent of American households are worth nearly $43 trillion, more than the total wealth of the entire lowest 90 percent of Americans, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve. The top 10 percent of households are worth about $96 trillion, more than double the wealth of the lower 90 percent, Fed statistics show.
Results from The Harris Poll show concerns about that disparity and a strong consensus to do something about it. The organization polled a nationally representative sample of nearly 2,000 American adults. Among the findings:
Concerns about fairness rise to the top of Americans’ concerns with billionaires, on the issues of tax policy, inflation and wealth accumulation during the pandemic.
The Harris Poll found Americans strongly prefer action to address the disparity in wealth, by increasing taxes on extreme wealth and even limiting how much wealth people can accumulate.
Nearly half (47%) of Americans say there is a point when wealth should be capped.
The Harris Poll also captured Americans’ feelings on billionaires’ sway over mass media, such as Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s bid to purchase Twitter, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ ownership of The Washington Post.
“As our society continues to grow in two different directions, with the middle class disappearing, Americans are having a reckoning with wealth accumulation,” Rodney said. “Everyone wants wealth, but the idea now is that once you have it, you are now expected by the rest of society to act responsibly with it and leverage it for the good of the society.”
The Harris Poll’s “Americans and Billionaires Survey” is available now. To speak with experts or to learn more about The Harris Poll Thought Leadership Practice, visit https://theharrispoll.newswiremap.com
About Harris Poll Thought Leadership Practice
Building on 50+ years of experience pulsing societal opinion, we design research that is credible, creative, and culturally relevant. Our practice drives thought leadership and unearths trends for today’s biggest brands. We are focused on helping our clients get ahead of what’s next.
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