Zero Billionaires
A 100% tax rate above £770 million, alongside broader wealth-tax reform, could raise £10–50bn annually — restoring democracy, addressing climate breakdown and rebuilding social mobility.
The Crisis of Wealth Concentration
Fewer than 60,000 people (0.001% of humanity) control three times more wealth than the poorest 3.5 billionWorld Inequality Report 2026
How UK Wealth is Distributed
The top 1% hold 10% of all wealth—equal to the poorest 50% combined. The next 9% hold 33%, while the middle 40% hold 47%.ONS Jan 2025
Annual real growth of billionaire-class wealth since 1995 — roughly 2.5× the rate of average wealthWorld Inequality Report 2026
Rich list wealth grew 4 times faster than median household wealth since 2008Resolution Foundation
How much better off typical households would be if they'd kept paceResolution Foundation
Extreme Wealth Harms Economic Growth
IMF research spanning 159 countries demolishes trickle-down mythologyIMF 2015
Growth Impact: Bottom 20% vs Top 20% Income Share
Source: IMF, 159 countries. When the bottom 20%'s share increases 1%, GDP grows 0.38 points. When the top 20%'s share increases 1%, GDP shrinks 0.08 points.IMF 2015
UK Social Mobility Crisis
UK
To reach average income from poverty
Denmark
To reach average income from poverty
The UK ranks 21st of 82 nations on social mobility—behind Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands.OECD
Democracy Captured by Wealth
In 2023, 66% of private political donations came from just 19 mega-donors — oligarchy, not democracyTransparency International UK 2024
UK Political Donation Concentration (2001-2021)
Just 10 men gave £106m—20% of all major individual donations over two decades. Four are billionaires with an average age of 70.openDemocracy
Of all major donations from just 10 individualsopenDemocracy
From unknown or questionable sources (2001-2024)Transparency International UK
Of the public believe the very rich have too much influence on UK politicsWarwick University
— Princeton-Northwestern study of 1,800 policy proposalsGilens & Page 2014
Climate Breakdown Driven by Luxury Emissions
The richest 1% emit as much as the poorest 5 billion peopleOxfam 2023
Per Capita CO2 Emissions by Wealth Group
The richest 1% produce 110 tonnes CO2 per capita annually—nearly 70 times more than the bottom 50%.Oxfam 2023
Billionaire Carbon Footprint
Investment emissions are 340× higher than personal consumption. Billionaires control $4.3 trillion in fossil fuel holdings.Oxfam
How Policy Choices Created This Crisis
Deliberate decisions since 1979 engineered extreme wealth concentration
Top Marginal Tax Rates: 1950-2025
Tax cuts begin: Top rate slashed from 83% to 60%
"Big Bang" deregulation: Financial sector grows from 100% to 450% of GDP
Further cuts: Top rate drops to 40%—43 point reduction in 9 years
Privatization wave: £60+ billion in public assets sold, often below market value
CGT collapse: Capital gains tax reduced to flat 18%, now 18-24%
The Solution: 100% Tax Above £770 Million
Legally feasible, administratively viable, historically proven, and publicly supported
Annual Revenue
From wealth cap alone
Affected
Out of 68 million
How We Calculate £8-12 Billion Annual Revenue
Revenue projections are based on rigorous economic methodology and multiple verified data sources:
Data Sources:
- Sunday Times Rich List 2025: 156 UK billionaires with £772.8 billion combined wealth (published 16 May 2025)STRL 2025
- Oxfam GB (Jan 2025): UK billionaire wealth rose by an average £35 million per day in 2024Oxfam 2025
Methodology:
- Saez-Zucman methodology with Pareto coefficient of 1.4 for wealth distribution modelingZucman
- 15% avoidance/evasion rate (consistent with strong enforcement in Nordic countries)Saez & Zucman
- 8% annual wealth tax on amounts exceeding £770 million threshold
- £300m administrative costs for 300-person HMRC specialized unit conducting 100% audits of 156 taxpayers
Result: Wealth above the £770 million threshold yields £8-12 billion in net annual revenue after accounting for enforcement costs and conservative avoidance estimates.
Note: £8–12bn is the campaign's own illustrative estimate using the methodology above. For independently published costings, see IPPR (~£10bn/yr from a 0.6% tax above £2m) and Tax Justice UK (~£50bn/yr from a comprehensive package) — both cited in the fact box below.
Current UK Wealth Taxes Are Inadequate
The UK already has some wealth-related taxes, but they're limited in scope and easily avoided:
What £12 Billion Could Fund Annually
Of NHS maintenance backlog (£13.8bn)
Of schools maintenance backlog (£13.8bn)
Annual NHS capital investment gap (£4.1bn)
Historical Precedent: High Rates Work
US GDP growth averaged 3.7% annually from 1947-1973 with 91%+ top rates vs 2.3% from 1980-2018 with lower rates.Piketty & Saez
What Billionaire Wealth Could Solve
UK billionaires alone hold enough wealth to end multiple global crises—and still remain extraordinarily wealthy
The Scale of Solvable Problems
UK billionaires hold £772.8 billion combined. Global billionaires hold far more. Here's what these sums could achieve:
End Extreme Poverty Globally
To lift 700m people out of extreme poverty by 2030UNU-WIDER 2024
The Math: Billionaire Wealth vs. Global Problems
Share of UK billionaire wealth needed to end UK homelessness (£19bn of £773bn over 23 years)Crisis UK
Share of UK billionaire wealth to fund ending extreme poverty globally for one year (£56bn of £773bn)UNU-WIDER 2024
Annual cost of child poverty to the UK economy—could be addressed with 5% of UK billionaire wealthCPAG 2023
Cost-Benefit Analysis: Prevention vs. Management
Research consistently shows that solving these problems is far cheaper than managing their consequences:
- Homelessness: £19bn total to end it (2018-2041) vs. £1.7bn councils spend annually just on temporary accommodationShelter 2023
- Child Poverty: Costs UK economy £39bn annually—investment to prevent it would generate similar economic gainsCPAG 2023
- Rough Sleeping: Intervention costs £1,426 per person vs. £20,128 annual cost of someone sleeping roughCrisis UK
Crisis working with PwC found ending homelessness would deliver benefits worth £26.4bn while costing £9.9bn over 10 years—a net benefit of £16.5bn. We spend more managing poverty than it would cost to end it.Crisis UK
Public Mandate for Action
Cross-Party Support for Wealth Taxation
YouGov polling (July 2025): 75% support 2% wealth tax on assets above £10m. Only 13% oppose.YouGov 2025
Labour MPs backing wealth tax amendmentsTax Justice UK
Signatures on wealth tax petitionsUK Parliament
Prefer taxing richest over spending cutsIPPR
UK Leadership: Building an International Coalition
The UK has the diplomatic influence and economic credibility to lead a global coalition for wealth taxation—making capital flight impossible and inspiring systemic change worldwide.
Why the UK Must Lead
As a G7 nation, permanent UN Security Council member, and host of the world's second-largest financial center, the UK is uniquely positioned to coordinate international wealth taxation. Unilateral action alone won't prevent the ultra-wealthy from relocating assets—but a coordinated coalition will.
Leaders committed to effective taxation of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (Rio Declaration, July 2024)G20 2024
Successfully coordinated global minimum corporate tax of 15% across 140+ countriesOECD
IMF, OECD, UN, and World Bank created the Platform for Collaboration on Tax in 2016PCT
The International Framework Already Exists
Recent breakthroughs in international tax coordination prove that collective action is both possible and effective:
Platform for Collaboration on Tax: IMF, OECD, UN, and World Bank coordinate to combat tax evasionOECD
OECD Global Tax Deal: 140+ countries agree to 15% minimum corporate tax—ending the race to the bottomOECD BEPS
G20 Coalition Emerges: NGOs, economists, millionaires, and politicians call for coordinated wealth taxation of ultra-richEU Tax Observatory
G20 Rio Declaration: Leaders commit to engage cooperatively to ensure ultra-high-net-worth individuals are effectively taxedG20 2024
Preventing Capital Flight Through Coalition
The main objection to wealth taxes—capital flight—evaporates when nations act together. The UK can lead a coalition of willing nations to:
Exit Taxation
One-time wealth tax on high-net-worth individuals who renounce citizenship or relocate assetsUN DESA
Information Exchange
OECD-led transparency initiatives enable automatic exchange of tax information across bordersOECD
Harmonized Rates
Coordinated minimum wealth tax rates prevent competitive undercutting between nationsEU Tax Observatory
The momentum is building. Spain, France, Germany, and Brazil have all expressed support for coordinated wealth taxation. The UK can either lead this coalition—or watch from the sidelines as others shape the future of global tax justice.EU Tax Observatory
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The Evidence is Overwhelming. The Time is Now.
Extreme wealth concentration damages economic growth, captures democracy, accelerates climate breakdown, and eliminates social mobility. A 100% tax above £770 million has full legal authority, strong enforcement mechanisms, and overwhelming public support.
Key Sources
- World Inequality Report 2026: Global wealth and income inequality analysis (2025)
- World Inequality Database: UK and global wealth concentration trends
- Wealth Tax Commission: "A Wealth Tax for the UK" Final Report (2020)
- Institute for Government: Wealth taxes explainer and policy analysis
- UN World Food Programme: Cost estimates for ending world hunger (2021)
- UNU-WIDER: New estimates of the cost of ending poverty (2024)
- Crisis UK: Plan to end homelessness and cost-benefit analysis
- Shelter England: Temporary accommodation costs and homelessness data
- Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG): Cost of child poverty in the UK (2023)
- Oxfam International: Billionaire wealth and inequality data (2024-2025)
- Sunday Times Rich List 2025: UK billionaire wealth tracking
- IMF Staff Discussion Note: "Causes and Consequences of Income Inequality" (2015)
- World Inequality Database: Global wealth and income trends
- Princeton-Northwestern Study: "Testing Theories of American Politics" (Gilens & Page, 2014)
- LSE International Inequalities Institute: UK wealth concentration research
- Resolution Foundation: Living Standards and wealth taxation analysis
- Institute for Fiscal Studies: Tax and wealth policy research
- IPPR: Progressive taxation proposals and revenue projections
- Office for National Statistics: UK income and wealth surveys (2022)
- Transparency International UK: Political donations and dark money investigations
- openDemocracy: Political funding concentration research
- Warwick University: Research on political donations from super-donors
- Autonomy Institute: "Politics for Sale" report (2021-2024)
- OECD: Tax coordination and international cooperation initiatives
- EU Tax Observatory: International wealth tax proposals
- G20 Rio Declaration: Commitment to tax ultra-high-net-worth individuals (2024)
- Stanford University: Research on millionaire tax migration (2016)
- Emmanuel Saez & Gabriel Zucman: Wealth taxation methodology and progressive tax research (UC Berkeley)
- Gabriel Zucman: Pareto distribution modeling for wealth concentration
- YouGov: Public opinion polling on wealth taxation (2025)