--- title: Donald Trump Challenged by Warren Buffett on Tax Returns description: Billionaire philanthropist Warren Buffett on Monday challenged Donald Trump to release his tax returns, accusing him of hiding something canonical: https://time.com/4434785/warren-buffett-donald-trump-tax-returns/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-02T12:08:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:45:47.865Z article:section: Politics og:title: Warren Buffett Challenges Donald Trump to Release Tax Returns og:description: "You're only afraid if you've got something to be afraid about" og:url: https://time.com/4434785/warren-buffett-donald-trump-tax-returns/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3697800633b1b712/6988a0bccd1bba7118701ccb/warren-buffett-critic-trump-wealth-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Hillary Clinton, Warren Buffett og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Warren Buffett Challenges Donald Trump to Release Tax Returns twitter:description: "You're only afraid if you've got something to be afraid about" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3697800633b1b712/6988a0bccd1bba7118701ccb/warren-buffett-critic-trump-wealth-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Warren Buffett Challenges Donald Trump to Release Tax Returns > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Aug 2, 2016 12:08 PM UTC  Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett cheers as he and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton arrive at a rally at Omaha North High Magnet School in Omaha, Neb. on Aug. 1, 2016. Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett cheers as he and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton arrive at a rally at Omaha North High Magnet School in Omaha, Neb. on Aug. 1, 2016. Andrew Harnik—AP  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Aug 2, 2016 12:08 PM UTC Billionaire investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett on Monday challenged Donald Trump to release his tax returns, accusing him of hiding something from the public. “I’ll bring my tax return. He can bring his tax return—nobody’s going to arrest us, there are no rules against showing your tax returns—and just let people ask us questions about the items that are on there,” [Buffett said](http://money.cnn.com/2016/08/01/news/economy/warren-buffett-donald-trump-tax-returns/) on stage with Hillary Clinton at a rally in Omaha. Trump has repeatedly said he will not release his tax returns due to an ongoing audit, drawing criticism from former Republican nominee [Mitt Romney](http://time.com/4327012/mitt-romney-donald-trump-tax-returns/) and Supreme Court Justice [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](http://time.com/4402787/ruth-bader-ginsburg-doubles-down-on-donald-trump-criticism-he-is-a-faker/), among others. “You’re only afraid if you’ve got something to be afraid about,” Buffett said, noting that his own tax returns are currently being audited as well. “He’s not afraid because of the IRS. He’s afraid because of you.” Buffett—who has [supported Clinton](http://time.com/4151882/hillary-clinton-warren-buffet-donald-trump/) throughout the presidential race and has poked fun at Trump previously—joins other billionaires and business leaders who have now called Trump’s business background into question. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg argued in a [speech at the Democratic National Convention](http://time.com/4427695/dnc-michael-bloomberg-sane-competent/) last week that Trump’s business experience was no asset. “Donald Trump says he wants to run the country like he runs his business,” Bloomberg said. “God help us. I’m a New Yorker, and I know a con when I see one.” At the Omaha rally, Buffett said a monkey could have made more money than Trump’s hotels and casinos in 1995, saying “if a monkey had thrown a dart at the stock page, the monkey on average would have made 150 percent,” [according to Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-buffett-idUSKCN10C3AS). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4434785/warren-buffett-donald-trump-tax-returns/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4434785/warren-buffett-donald-trump-tax-returns/"},"headline":"Warren Buffett Challenges Donald Trump to Release Tax Returns","datePublished":"2016-08-02T12:08:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:45:47.865Z","description":"\"You're only afraid if you've got something to be afraid about\"","url":"https://time.com/4434785/warren-buffett-donald-trump-tax-returns/","keywords":["Donald Trump","2016 Election","celebrities","People"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3697800633b1b712/6988a0bccd1bba7118701ccb/warren-buffett-critic-trump-wealth-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3697800633b1b712/6988a0bccd1bba7118701ccb/warren-buffett-critic-trump-wealth-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hillary Clinton, Warren Buffett","caption":"Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett cheers as he and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton arrive at a rally at Omaha North High Magnet School in Omaha, Neb. on Aug. 1, 2016.","creditText":"Andrew Harnik—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4434785/warren-buffett-donald-trump-tax-returns/","name":"Warren Buffett Challenges Donald Trump to Release Tax Returns"}}]}] ```