Warren Buffett thinks the rich should pay more taxes. Warren Buffett is not paying more taxes. Warren Buffett is giving his money to charity instead. The math works out great for Warren Buffett.
Estate taxes exist to collect money when wealthy people die. Buffett supports this concept in theory. In practice, he structured his entire fortune to bypass the system entirely. Charitable donations are tax-deductible. They also eliminate estate tax liability. The government gets nothing. The charities get everything. Buffett gets to be right about policy while proving himself wrong about obligations.
This is the billionaire equivalent of a restaurant critic who writes glowing reviews about how everyone should tip 25% but pays in gift cards.
Retail traders will read this headline and feel inspired. They will open their Robinhood apps and buy three shares of Berkshire Hathaway Class B. They will tell their friends they invest like Buffett. They will not have $100 billion to donate. They will not have tax attorneys. They will have $437 in a portfolio that is 60% meme stocks and a screenshot of a Reddit post about compound interest.
Buffett has spent decades saying rich people do not pay enough. He is correct. He has also spent decades ensuring he personally exemplifies the problem he describes. The estate tax rate is 40% on amounts over $13 million. Buffett's estate will pay 0%. The difference is roughly $50 billion, which is coincidentally the amount of money that could fund the entire IRS budget for five years.
But at least he said the right thing.
Photo by Mauro Lima on Unsplash
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