United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby Says the US Should Have a National Wealth Tax and Inheritance Taxes Approaching 100%, per New York Times
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby says the United States should have a national wealth tax, and inheritance taxes approaching 100% for the wealthiest, per the New York Times.
Kirby said wealth inequality has become a danger to society, and that a wealth tax needs to be national because the rich would simply move to avoid state-level ones.
The comments came in an interview with the New York Times published October 18, in which the 59-year-old executive was asked about eroding public confidence in corporate leaders.
What Kirby Said
"Wealth inequality has become a danger to our society, and we need to address that," Kirby told the New York Times.
"We should have a national wealth tax, it won't work by state because people will just move," Kirby said. "And I think we should have inheritance taxes that get close to 100% at some level. I would pay them."
The interview did not specify what asset threshold would trigger such a levy, or what rate Kirby would set for a national wealth tax.
Kirby earned a little more than $32 million last year. United's proxy statement put his total 2025 pay at $32.3 million, about 334 times the $96,670 in total compensation United paid its median employee.
Despite the inequality warning, Kirby said he remains upbeat about the U.S. economy, describing the country's future as "incredibly bright."
How Far That Is From Current Law
Washington does not currently tax individual beneficiaries of inherited assets, and there is no federal wealth tax.
The federal estate tax applies to the estate itself, not to heirs. It carries a top marginal rate of 40% and a basic exemption of $15 million per person in 2026, or $30 million for a married couple, according to the IRS.
Only about 0.2% of estates are large enough to owe it.
By the Federal Reserve's measure, the top 1% of U.S. households held 32.5% of the nation's net worth in the second quarter of 2026, up from 31.1% a year earlier, while the bottom half held 2.3%.
California Is About to Test the State Version
Kirby's mobility argument is about to get a real-world test that he warned against.
California's Proposition 40, on the November 3 ballot, would impose a one-time tax of up to 5% on certain taxpayers with more than $1 billion in covered assets. California's official voter guide says 90% of the revenue would go toward health care, with the rest directed to food assistance, education-related programs and administration.
A National Bureau of Economic Research working paper estimated the measure could generate about $30 billion, in a range of $28 billion to $36 billion, far below an earlier estimate of roughly $100 billion. The researchers said publicly confirmed departures had already removed nearly 30% of the potential wealth-tax base.
That estimate is contested, but it is exactly the relocation problem Kirby pointed to.
Kirby joins other prominent business figures who have publicly supported higher taxes on large fortunes, including Warren Buffett and George Soros, per the New York Times coverage.
What It Means for Markets
There is no federal wealth tax bill moving today, so this is a policy-risk headline, not an imminent tax change, and traders should size it that way.
United itself is the headline name. UAL flow is unlikely to move on tax commentary alone, but Kirby's remarks put the stock in a political news cycle in the same weeks the airline is defending higher fares and seat fees.
The broader angle is state-level wealth taxes and what they do to high-net-worth migration, private markets, and luxury spending. Watch SPY for any risk-off hedging if the California vote turns the wealth-tax debate into a national midterm issue.
Estate and tax-policy headlines also matter for financials and wealth managers over time, even when no law changes, because they change how clients hold and move assets.
The Bottom Line
A sitting Fortune 500 CEO who made $32.3 million last year is calling for a national wealth tax and inheritance taxes close to 100% at some level, and says he would pay them himself.
Whether Congress ever acts is a separate question. That the argument is now coming from inside the C-suite is the story.
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