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#billionaire

16 posts14 participants2 posts today
Public
DoomsdaysCW

#Maine #billionaire makes it onto list of richest Americans

by Bill Trotter, Bangor Daily News
Fri, November 1st 2024

"In what may be a first, a Mainer has been named by Forbes Magazine as one of the 400 wealthiest living Americans.

"Susan Alfond, a Scarborough resident, is one of three surviving siblings whose father was Harold Alfond, the founder of Dexter Shoe Co. Susan Alfond and her brothers, Bill and Ted, each are estimated to have personal wealth of $3.4 billion, ranking them alongside a few other billionaires in 388th place on the list of 400.

[...]

"There are several other billionaires on this year’s Forbes 400 list with ties to #Maine, most of them because they summer at seasonal homes they own along the coast.

"The wealthiest of them is Edward C. Johnson IV, whose wealth is estimated to be worth $12.6 billion, ranking him as the 70th richest American. Johnson, whose grandfather, Edward C. Johnson II founded Fidelity Investments, has a summer home on Mount Desert Island, and his father, Edward C. Johnson III, long owned property and summered there.

"Edward C. Johnson III, who died in 2022, ran the investment firm until handing the reins to his daughter Abigail Johnson in 2014. Abigail Johnson ranks 30th on the Forbes list with an estimated wealth of $31.3 billion, but it is not clear if she or a third Johnson sibling, Elizabeth (who Forbes says is worth $10.6 billion), also owns property or spends summers in Maine.

"Other billionaires who rank on the Forbes list and own summer homes on MDI include brothers Stephen and Mitchell Rales, Charles Butt, and Robert Bass, each of whom has an estimated wealth roughly between $5 billion and $9 billion.

"John C. Malone, the founder of Liberty Media and one of the largest landowners in the country, owns Mosquito Island off Port Clyde and a summer home in Boothbay. Malone, who with an estimated wealth of $10.7 billion is ranked 89th on the Forbes list, also owns nearly 1 million acres in Maine, including Falcon Lodge on Spencer Lake in Somerset County and surrounding woodlands."

Source:
wgme.com/news/local/maine-bill
#TaxTheRich #RichMainers #billionaires

WGME · Maine billionaire makes it onto list of richest AmericansBy Bill Trotter, Bangor Daily News
Public
DoomsdaysCW

#TaxTheRich, it’s a decent start

Posted by Bluebird | Mar 12, 2025

"As incredible as it may seem, just a handful of #billionaire #Mainers could fund the state for years out of their own pockets and still live out their lives as multimillionaires. So when socialists say tax the rich, we mean more than raising what billionaires pay by 1% or 2%, we mean raising their taxes by 25% or 50% or more to start with. We mean we should take back the wealth they have collected by exploiting all the people who have worked for them, all the land they have stolen, and all the resources they have grabbed all around the world. In the meantime, socialists often support smaller measures whenever we feel like they are a way to raise funds to help our class, raise consciousness, and build organization.

However, increasing taxes on the wealthy isn’t a permanent solution to the persisting problems of #capitalist society. It’s a good start, but it’s not enough.

[...]

"By all means tax [the wealthy] at a rate of 95%, 99%, 100%, 200%! Take back everything they have stolen from us. Truly solving the causes of social inequality cannot happen until the property of the capitalist class has been expropriated, but for the reasons explained above, simply taxing them at any rate will prove ineffective given enough time.

"Moreover, tax increases tend to antagonize capitalists. Sooner or later, as we are seeing very clearly now in Washington, they will transform their economic might into raw political power to claw back even the small social costs that generations of #SocialMovements and trade unions have imposed on them. During such times, as grim as our prospects may seem, it becomes clearer than ever that so long as the capitalists have all the power, even the most progressive public policy can only be temporary.

"How much longer will capitalist industry be allowed to #pollute the planet? How many more times does the economy have to crash? How many more wars will we be forced to fight on the behalf of these #RobberBarons? How many more lives will be ruined by #debts, mass #layoffs, denied insurance claims, and more? Why should we tolerate a system that exploits those whose labor keeps society functioning?"

Read more:
pineandroses.org/opinion/www-p
#MaineDSA #Socialism #CapitalismMustDie

Tax the rich
Pine & Roses · socialists want to tax the rich
More from Todd Chretien
Public
Nonilex

#ElonMusk was born in 1971 in Johannesburg, South Africa, & raised in a #wealthy family under the country's #racist apartheid laws. #Musk's family history reveals ties to #apartheid & neo-#Nazi politics. #DemocracyNow speaks w/Chris McGreal, reporter for The Guardian, to understand how Musk's upbringing shaped his worldview, as well as that of his South African-raised colleague #PeterThiel, a right-wing #billionaire who co-founded PayPal alongside Musk.

#USpol
youtube.com/watch?v=Ahv3IKzMdH

YouTubeElon Musk's Family History in South Africa Reveals Ties to Apartheid & Neo-Nazi MovementsBy Democracy Now!
Public
DoomsdaysCW

#Mainers call on legislature to fund #education and more by raising taxes on #wealthy

by Channa Steinmetz, March 27, 2025

"As the #Trump Administration continues its efforts to fund huge #billionaire tax cuts by raising the cost of living and making it harder for Americans to access health care, housing, food assistance and education, Mainers, including some with very high incomes, are calling for the state’s wealthiest residents to pay what they truly owe our state.

"#LD1089, 'An Act to Permanently Fund 55 Percent of the State’s Share of Education by Establishing a Tax on Incomes of More than $1,000,000,' would add a 4% income tax surcharge on the fewer than 1% of Mainers whose incomes are above $1 million to fund Maine’s public schools. Currently, #millionaires pay the same percentage of their income in taxes as someone who makes $61,000 – leaving more than $100 million a year (the amount this tax would raise) on the table.

"Bill sponsor Rep. Cheryl Golek (D-Harpswell) said that while the bill would benefit many Mainers, 'adding a modest surcharge has no impact on millionaires.'

"#LD1047, 'An Act to Impose an Additional Tax on Certain Unearned Income', adds a 4% surcharge on capital gains above $250,000 for an individual or $500,000 for a couple filing jointly.

"Since #InvestmentIncome is often taxed at a lower rate than wages, and people with more wealth tend to get more of their income from investments (such as stocks or real estate), this bill helps to address the disparity in tax rates between people with more and less wealth. It would affect only the wealthiest investors, not middle-class families selling homes or withdrawing retirement savings, while raising over $100 million to support #schools, #infrastructure, and community services, said bill sponsor Rep. Grayson Lookner (D-Portland).

"Lucas St. Clair, an immensely wealthy Falmouth resident best known for his work on the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, testified in favor of both bills. He said that people with money, like his family, should pay more in taxes: 'We care about the future of this state. The inequitable tax structure of today…undermines the overall health of our communities. The wealthy should pay our fair share in taxes. Period.' He also spoke about the results of fairer tax policies: 'Fair tax policies allow more money to stay in communities, ensuring greater investment in public schools, infrastructure, and services like child care and health care.'

"Gorham child care provider Charlotte Jacobs of Scarborough testified in person in favor of both tax bills, saying that Maine’s continued failure to fully fund universal Pre-K and other essential services is a direct consequence of an unbalanced tax system."

Read more:
mainebeacon.com/mainers-call-o
#MainePol #TaxTheRich #USPol #Education #EducationCuts

Maine Beacon - A project of the Maine People's Alliance · Mainers call on legislature to fund education and more by raising taxes on wealthy - Maine BeaconAs the Trump Administration continues its efforts to fund huge billionaire tax cuts by raising the cost of living and making it harder for Americans to access health care, housing, food assistance and education, Mainers, including some with very high incomes, are calling for the state’s wealthiest residents to pay what they truly owe our
Public
PoetGreg

#trump #ShareThisPost #Republicans #post #doge #Reposteria #billionaire #repost #share #elonmusk #Congress
(Call senator, Representative (202) 224 3121
MUSK SAYS ITS A PONZI SCHEME! COMMERCE SEC SAYS NO ONE WOULD MISS IT! CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS SAID IT SHOULD BE PRIVATIZED, PUT INTO WALL STREET!
BE VIGILANT. BILLIONAIRES WANT UR MONEY FOR THEIR OWN TAX BREAKS!. WALL STREET WANTS IT FOR THEIR OWN GAMBLING! IF REPUBLICANS DON'T CARE ABOUT US, WHY SHOULD WE CARE ABOUT THEM? FIGHT BACK IN 2026.

Public
Jan Penfrat

@Tutanota

3. It gives praise to entities that don't deserve it just because they are "European". Point in case: the certainly well-intentioned @goeuropean project, which recommends (among many very ethical companies) some really terrible "European alternatives", e.g.:

* #Volkswagen, #Audi, that built cheat software into their cars to make them look cleaner
* #Inditex, #Zalando, some of the worst #fastfashion polluters
* #RedBull, the drinks company owned by an Austrian far-right #billionaire

Public
Nonilex

Exclusive: Interim SEC chief cast sole vote against suing #Musk

Days before #Republicans took the helm of the #SEC in Jan, the agency's 5 commissioners held a closed-door vote on whether to sue #ElonMusk.

Since 2022, the agency had been investigating whether the #billionaire, a close ally of #Trump, had violated #securities laws by disclosing too late his purchase of shares of #Twitter, now known as #X, prior to acquiring the company that year.

#law #USpol #DualState
reuters.com/world/us/interim-s

Continued thread
Public
Katharine O'Moore-Klopf, ELS

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Senator Chuck Schumer, & Congressman Nick LaLota: I demand that you stop Tr*mp, fElon M*sk, and their #billionaire buddies who are #destroying our nation for their own profit and are making enemies of other nations. mobilize.us/handsoff/event/765 (6/6)

MobilizeHands Off! LI Fights Back · Hands Off**Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them.** Long Island is fighting back! They're taking everything they can get their hands on—our health care, our data, our jobs, our services—and daring the world to stop them. This is a crisis, and the time to act is now. 🚨 **On Saturday, April 5th, we're taking to the streets to fight back with a clear message: Hands off!** 🚨 📍 Where: Nassau County Court, 262 Old Country Rd, Mineola 📅 When: 1:00 PM on April 5, 2025 This mass mobilization day is our message to the world that we do not consent to the destruction of our government and our economy for the benefit of Trump and his billionaire allies. Alongside Americans across the country, we are marching, rallying, and protesting to demand a stop to the chaos and build an opposition movement against the looting of our country. A core principle behind all Hands Off! events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values. Check out handsoff2025.com for more information.
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