--- title: Super-Rich Come to Washington Pleading to Pay More in Taxes description: The group known as Patriotic Millionaires staged a protest outside Jeff Bezos house before lobbying Congress at the Capitol canonical: https://time.com/article/2026/04/15/-it-beats-pitchfork-rebellions-and-the-guillotine-why-these-super-rich-americans-are-asking-for-higher-taxes/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-04-15T19:26:45.155Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-13T06:52:13.533Z article:section: Politics og:title: Why a Group of Super-Rich Americans Are in Washington Pleading to Pay More in Taxes og:description: "It beats pitchfork rebellions and the guillotine," said the great-grandson of meat magnate Oscar Mayer. og:url: https://time.com/article/2026/04/15/-it-beats-pitchfork-rebellions-and-the-guillotine-why-these-super-rich-americans-are-asking-for-higher-taxes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte31b83a6f3bb0304/69dfe3203022bd3a377546d5/GettyImages-1232953446.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: GettyImages-1232953446.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why a Group of Super-Rich Americans Are in Washington Pleading to Pay More in Taxes twitter:description: "It beats pitchfork rebellions and the guillotine," said the great-grandson of meat magnate Oscar Mayer. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte31b83a6f3bb0304/69dfe3203022bd3a377546d5/GettyImages-1232953446.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # ‘It Beats Pitchfork Rebellions and the Guillotine’: Why These Super-Rich Americans Are Asking For Higher Taxes > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=d6ce2b0b-6e25-4c12-8338-93fa540ef877&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * D.C. Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=d6ce2b0b-6e25-4c12-8338-93fa540ef877&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=d6ce2b0b-6e25-4c12-8338-93fa540ef877&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. 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. #### 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 [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Apr 15, 2026 7:26 PM UTC  A mobile billboard by the group Patriotic Millionaires," featuring Jeff Bezos and calling for higher taxes on the ultra-wealthy, near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on May 17, 2021 A mobile billboard by the group Patriotic Millionaires," featuring Jeff Bezos and calling for higher taxes on the ultra-wealthy, near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on May 17, 2021 Drew Angerer—Getty Images  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Apr 15, 2026 7:26 PM UTC _This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up_ [here](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/signup?nln=dc-brief&source=dc%5Fonsite) _to get stories like this sent to your inbox._ As far as political protest goes, this was among the most civilized I have ever witnessed. The organizers did not make any noise beyond the idling truck covered in changing digital billboards. There were no chants on the sidewalks, no signs to leave behind as litter. The workers at the estate of billionaire [Jeff Bezos](https://time.com/7113703/jeff-bezos-washington-post-trump-harris-endorsement-explanation-lost-subscribers/) looked with curiosity that quickly gave way to indifference as the visitors’ vehicle flipped through a three-minute slide deck mocking the Amazon founder: “Congratulations! You won capitalism! Now pay your damn taxes.” What was most notable about this protest were the people behind it: the type of folks who share slips at the yacht club, flight paths for their private jets, and memberships in elite schools’ alumni groups. The self-described Patriotic Millionaires were making their latest foray into Washington, D.C.**,** on April 15, also known as Tax Day, to shame Congress into taxing people like them a whole lot more, and mock some of their own for their differing opinions. “Taxation is a nice compromise,” says Chuck Collins, an inequality foe whose great-grandfather was the ubiquitous meat magnate Oscar Mayer. “It totally beats economic, social collapse. It beats pitchfork rebellions and the guillotine.” Extreme, maybe. But it’s that rationality that pervades the couple of dozen Patriotic Millionaires and their advisers who spent Tuesday talking policy in Dupont Circle and Wednesday trolling Bezos before going to the Capitol to lobby lawmakers. The surnames are as familiar as they are linked to Americana, including [Abigail Disney](https://time.com/7335911/abigail-disney-profile-billionaires-taxes/), the granddaughter of Roy Disney and grandniece of Walt. And they’re getting face time with likeminded lawmakers, such as Sen. [Chris Van Hollen](https://time.com/7281773/abrego-garcia-trump-tattoos-van-hollen/) of Maryland who attended the Tuesday session and Sen. [Ed Markey](https://time.com/article/2026/04/07/democrats-demand-gop-leaders-end-recess-to-stop-trump-s-iran-war/) of Massachusetts who joined a Wednesday event on Capitol Hill. For Democrats, nothing dovetails better with their party’s midterm messaging than some of the richest people in the country framing a tax hike on themselves as not only manageable, but the ultimate champagne problem. But in a federal government controlled by Republicans and led by Donald Trump, it’s hard to see this pitch penetrating those actually deciding tax policy. As we chatted in a conference room on the sidelines of the group’s two-day policy meeting here in Washington, Collins argued the public is moving toward the Patriotic Millionaires’ thinking. “Attitudes about inequality are starting to shift and are shifting in our favor in terms of a wider understanding about the harms, and why you should tax high wealth and invest it in things that matter,” he says. Scott Ellis, an ed-tech executive and former management consultant at McKinsey, described the concentration of wealth as “the single most important root cause” of the world’s problems. His modest proposal: a $100 million cap on household wealth and a 50% wealth tax starting above $30 million. “It’s hard to argue that $100 million is not enough. … How do you get your trophy for winning capitalism?” he said. It’s a tough sell beyond these take-my-money activists. But as Morris Pearl, a founding member of the club and a former managing director at BlackRock, put it bluntly: “People are saying millionaires like me are going to move out of the city if they raise our taxes. That’s absurd. The whole point of being a millionaire is so you can live wherever you want to live. … I’m not going to move somewhere else because of my taxes. People who don’t want to pay taxes don’t live in New York.” Again, it is the privilege of indifference. But there’s another version of it—that of the masses, resigned to the status quo, which was on display at Bezos’ compound. The driver arrived promptly at 11 a.m. in the tony section of Washington where the Obamas are neighbors. It idled outside the estate, which combined two mansions into one but is seldom host to its owner, who has become the avatar for billionaires who know how to [game](https://inequality.org/article/tax-policy-fuels-obscene-wealth-accumulation/) the tax code to pay a lower rate of taxes than most Americans. The few cars going down that tree-lined street simply went around without so much as a honk. “Tax me if you can,” the signage taunted with a picture of a laughing Bezos outside his manse. Groundskeepers at the estate across the street went about their business, hosing down the sidewalk. If anyone called the police, they never showed up. After a few minutes, one of the staffers with Patriotic Millionaires turned to the small retinue of journalists on hand. “Can I tell them we’re good?” he asked. At 11:11 a.m., the show had moved on and was heading to Capitol Hill with the hopes of leaving the indifference behind. It might be tough to shake this Tax Day. _Make sense of what matters in Washington._ [Sign up for the D.C. Brief newsletter](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/signup?nln=dc-brief&source=dc%5Fonsite)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/04/15/-it-beats-pitchfork-rebellions-and-the-guillotine-why-these-super-rich-americans-are-asking-for-higher-taxes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/article/2026/04/15/-it-beats-pitchfork-rebellions-and-the-guillotine-why-these-super-rich-americans-are-asking-for-higher-taxes/"},"headline":"‘It Beats Pitchfork Rebellions and the Guillotine’: Why These Super-Rich Americans Are Asking For Higher Taxes","datePublished":"2026-04-15T19:26:45.155Z","dateModified":"2026-05-13T06:52:13.533Z","description":"The group known as Patriotic Millionaires staged a protest outside Jeff Bezos' house on Wednesday","url":"https://time.com/article/2026/04/15/-it-beats-pitchfork-rebellions-and-the-guillotine-why-these-super-rich-americans-are-asking-for-higher-taxes/","keywords":["The D.C. Brief"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte31b83a6f3bb0304/69dfe3203022bd3a377546d5/GettyImages-1232953446.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Philip Elliott","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte31b83a6f3bb0304/69dfe3203022bd3a377546d5/GettyImages-1232953446.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-1232953446.jpg","caption":"","creditText":"Drew Angerer—Getty Images","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":"https://time.com/article/2026/04/15/-it-beats-pitchfork-rebellions-and-the-guillotine-why-these-super-rich-americans-are-asking-for-higher-taxes/","name":"‘It Beats Pitchfork Rebellions and the Guillotine’: Why These Super-Rich Americans Are Asking For Higher Taxes"}}]}] ```