Mark Cuban is pushing back against the idea that getting rid of billionaires would fix America’s wealth inequality.
In a recent series of posts on BlueSky, the billionaire investor warned that doing so would collapse the stock market and erase the savings of millions of regular Americans.
Cuban, who made his fortune in tech startups and by owning the Dallas Mavericks, argued that extreme wealth is a natural result of how stock markets work.
“Billionaires will exist as long as stock markets exist,” he wrote.
“Should we get rid of the stock market?”
One person replied that they would be fine with eliminating the market if it meant ending extreme wealth. Cuban shot back, asking, “What should people do with the money they save?”
He went on to explain that forcing the richest Americans to sell their stock would backfire. “If you make the top 10 pct sell 90 pct of the market, how close to zero value do you think the ownership of the 90 percent goes? You would wipe out the savings of more than half the country,” he said.
The Rich Own Most of the Market—But That Still Affects Everyone
According to the Federal Reserve, the wealthiest 10% of Americans now own 93% of all U.S. stocks, the highest share ever recorded.
Meanwhile, the bottom 50% of Americans hold just 1% of stocks.
Despite record-high stock market participation, with 58% of households owning stocks in 2023, most gains still flow to the rich.
During the pandemic, retail investing surged thanks to stimulus checks and free time, but many small investors pulled out during the 2022 downturn.
Cuban acknowledged that stock ownership is skewed toward the wealthy, but emphasized that market collapses hurt everyone.
Taxing Billionaires Won’t Solve the Deficit
Cuban also pushed back on the idea that seizing billionaire wealth would meaningfully reduce inequality or fund major government programs.
“You can take every penny that every billionaire has, and other than making a lot of people on here feel better, it wouldn’t pay for the interest of the federal deficit or single-payer [healthcare],” he said.
“And doing so would probably tank the markets and cause a depression. But other than that, the rich would be tasty!”
However, he did say he supports a one-time windfall tax on anyone making $1 billion or more in a single year.
But he raised concerns about wealth taxes tied to stock values.
“If it’s the value of their stock, will you refund the tax if the stock market corrects or crashes?” he asked.
Fairer Capitalism Instead of Punishment
Cuban made it clear he believes in making capitalism more fair, just not by eliminating the ultra-wealthy.
He responded positively to the idea that workers should have more ownership in the companies they help build, writing, “I think every employee should be the same percent of their earnings in company stock as the CEO.”
When a user argued that public frustration stems from billionaires acting selfishly, Cuban replied with three checkmarks.
“I’m more concerned that no one is trying to figure out how to help everyone else make more,” he wrote.
While Cuban remains one of the most recognizable billionaires in the country, his recent comments suggest he’s trying to strike a balance between defending market capitalism and acknowledging the frustrations of everyday Americans facing rising inequality.
As stock markets keep growing, and ownership remains heavily tilted toward the wealthy, debates about how to fix inequality without harming working people will likely keep heating up.
IMAGE CREDIT: “Mark Cuban” by Gage Skidmore, via Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Image adjusted for layout.