Heightening class tensions in the United States have brought about discourse that would be unimaginable even a decade ago. As the working class grows restless, the palpable anxiety of the ruling classes has resulted in some incredible unforced errors.
One of the most spectacular comes came from real estate baron Steve Roth, who recently declared that the phrase “tax the rich” offends him just as much as the most noxious racial slur, the Guardian reported. Speaking on a quarterly earnings call — of all things — Roth went on a rant about Ken Griffin, a fellow billionaire singled out by New York mayor Zohran Mamdani as an example of an ultra-wealthy man who could stand to pay more taxes for the common good.
Specifically, Roth was irked that Mamdani recently announced a “pied-à-terre tax” — a no-brainer tax policy targeting second homes valued at $5 million or more — in front of Griffin’s $238 million New York penthouse.
“We are all shocked that our young mayor would pull this stunt in front of Ken’s home and single him out for ridicule. This was both irresponsible and dangerous,” Roth groused. “I must say that I consider the phrase ‘tax the rich’ — quote tax the rich — spit out with anger and contempt by politicians both here and across the country, to be just as hateful as some disgusting racial slurs, and even the phrase from the ‘river to the sea,’” he said, referring to the Palestinian liberation chant.
“But the rich whom the politicians are targeting, starting with nothing, are the epitome of the American dream,” Roth continued, without a hint of irony. “They are our largest employers and largest philanthropists, and it is the 1 percent that makes 50 percent of New York’s income taxes. They are at the top of the great American economic pyramid for a reason. They should be praised and thanked.”
We’ll let Roth’s comments speak for themselves. As for his extremely defensive posture, what Roth conveniently doesn’t mention is that the median New Yorker likely pays a similar, if not higher, effective tax rate than billionaires like him, despite having 15,000+ times less wealth.
With a net worth of around $1.1 billion at last disclosure in 2019 and over 20 million square feet of Manhattan real estate in his portfolio, most of Roth’s compensation comes from stock options, dividends, and capital gains — all taxed at a different rate than the typical wages us peons earn. As real estate publication the Real Deal reported, Roth’s company Vernado paid him $2 million in dividends on shares he didn’t even own yet in 2018, income which “maintains a lower tax rate on dividends than earned income” under federal law.
The median New York household, meanwhile, earned $79,713 in 2024, according to the firm Neilsberg Research. That’s income that typically comes from wages, all of which is subject to full federal, state, and city taxes. As one 2021 White House study under the Biden administration found, the top 400 billionaire families paid an effective federal tax rate of just 8.2 percent, compared to 13 percent for the average American taxpayer. That’s before we even get into state and city personal income taxes, the latter of which tops out at just 3.9 percent.
While it’s possible Roth pays a higher effective tax rate, a systemic lack of transparency makes it impossible to say. So here’s a challenge: if Roth wants to put these obscene calls of “tax the rich” and “people over profit” to bed, he should put his money where his mouth is and show us the receipts. After all, if he is paying his fair share, there should be nothing to hide.
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