A person with $10M in wealth should be earning $500k a year taxed at capital gains rates. This person does not and will not ever live like a mere mortal (unless

A person with $10M in wealth should be earning $500k a year taxed at capital gains rates. This person does not and will not ever live like a mere mortal (unless for show or sport). Assuming he's not an idiot, the $10M guy would have to try reasonably hard to become broke. A person earning $500k/yr is reasonably likely to be a normal guy--maybe semi talented business person or tech exec paying regular income taxes (at least partly) that could quickly become broke or at least become a mere mortal again if he stopped working. I don't really have anything against this guy. He's not a pervasive driver of inequality. He's not at the tier of wealth where you're buying influence. He's likely stuck in an expensive COL place. Unlike Mr. $10M, he probably hasn't carefully shielded his funds from divorce, family, etc. >Wealth is just what you happened to save up to that point in time. Nobody just "happens to save up" $10m. You either inherited it, lucked into it or grinded for years or (more likely) decades with the express aim of a payday (and you got lucky enough to get one).