Syed Mansoor Qutab
Just yesterday, Mark Benioff Chairman, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of SalesForce published an Op-Ed in the New York Times declaring the death of modern Capitalism. He elaborately discussed in his piece how the economic imbalance is deeply concerning. Even though his billionaire status allows him to not worry about the plight of the middle income or lower households, he is advocating for better quality of life for these individuals, to reduce the inequality in the society.
His Op-Ed highlighted how the richest 26 individuals accumulate as much wealth as the poorest 3.8 billion people. These top 0.1% own 20% of the wealth, at the same time making it incredibly difficult for the common people to even afford a short trip to the emergency room.
One of the themes in the Op-Ed was his advocacy of raising taxes on the wealthiest individuals, including himself. He describes the inequality, and how the economy can better by taking more money from the rich. Charging the billionaires higher taxes will indubitably raise trillions of dollars in revenue. This money can be further used to further important healthcare, Education, and climate research sectors.
Another theme was directed towards corporations that work towards generating higher profits. He declares that it is not the sole purpose of these corporations to increase shareholder’s wealth, and neither is it supposed to be the number one priority. Corporations have a responsibility towards the society, by making their lives easier, through a particular product, and/or service. They must leave an impact on society, such as work towards eradicating the problem of climate change, and formation of privacy laws.
Mr. Marc Benioff co-founded SalesForce back in 1999, and since then his wealth has risen to more than $8 billion. He includes himself in the Op-Ed as one of the individuals that must pay more to the economy to make lives easier for people in lower income households. His views are shared by other billionaires, such as Chairman Berkshire Hathaway, Mr. Warren Buffett, and Co-Chair Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr. Bill Gates.
