How billionaires get away with paying less tax than you

The News Agents

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Friday, 22 May 2026 - 41 minutes

As billionaire wealth soars to unprecedented heights, calls to “tax the rich” are getting louder across the world. But while politicians on the left often champion wealth taxes, governments have repeatedly struggled to make them work in practice. So why have they failed? And could that finally be changing?

This Friday, Lewis is joined by French economist Gabriel Zucman, the architect of the so-called “Zucman Tax” and one of the most influential voices in the global debate on inequality. Drawing on his new book We Need to Tax Billionaires, Zucman explains how extreme wealth has created what some see as two separate economic realities: ordinary citizens on one side, and a billionaire class operating on an entirely different political and financial plane on the other.

From private jets to ballooning fortunes, why have traditional tax systems have struggled to keep up? And could a coordinated global approach to taxing billionaires reshape democracy itself?

The News Agents is a Global Production.

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

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