Last Friday, the news came out that Disney’s former chief executive Bob Iger sold about $100 million worth of his stock in the company. This gives us a chance to examine how the top 1% make their income, and possible tax increases on investments in the United States. In the following video by Midnight’s Edge, the host Andre Einherjar interviews fellow YouTuber Valliant Renegade, and they discuss these topics.
Corporate executives make up most of the wealthy elite, and they don’t rely on just their working income. While most working and middle class citizens earn money from their jobs in hourly wages or salaries, executives have additional forms of compensation. They have salaries, usually in the 6 figure range, but they also receive performance bonuses, and biggest of all, shares of company stock. Iger accumulated shares of Disney stock during his career as an executive at various ranks. According to the video, while he was CEO, the value of Disney shares increased from about $20 to almost $200.
Regular Americans pay taxes on their income each year. Stocks and investments are subject to a different kind of tax, called capital gains tax. This year, the Biden administration proposed an increase on capital gains tax, which caused a dip in the stock and cryptocurrency markets. The tax won’t become reality unless Congress passes a law requiring it, but just the suggestion causes concern for anyone who has investments and assets.
As I have discussed on this blog and on my own YouTube channel, Americans are moving their cash into assets like stocks, cryptocurrency, precious metals, and even Pokemon cards. The Federal Reserve printed radically more cash in 2020 during the pandemic lockdowns. Therefore, the amount of dollars in one’s bank account have lost value. Buying assets preserves wealth during inflation, and you can sell them off for retirement, or pass them on to future generations. A capital gains tax hike ought to be highly unpopular, not just among the wealthy, but to anyone who understands the importance of assets.
Bob Iger is of retirement age, and no longer the Disney chief executive. He heard the tax hike rumblings and likely decided to cash out now. As for the rest of us, we should carefully monitor the United States Congress. The government has ignored the people’s wishes in the past, but it will be harder to do in the Internet Age. So many secrets have been revealed this year, we can expect more in the coming months.
