Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has said he thinks that billionaires “should not exist” and has vowed to implement a wealth tax to use their fortunes to pay for a slate of new government programs.
During an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” host Chris Wallace asked Sanders about his stance on billionaires — noting that some have given vast sums to charitable causes.
Sanders said that he doesn’t want to “denigrate” anyone for their accomplishments but asked if billionaires “really need” to amass massive fortunes, while in some cases paying their employees minimum wage.
“No one is denigrating the achievements of Bill Gates or anybody else,” he said, adding, “But we have to look at culturally what’s going on.”
He continued:
“Do people like the Walton family, for example, that own Wal-Mart, they’re worth well over a hundred billion dollars. When their workers are making eleven or twelve dollars an hour. No one is denigrating people who made significant achievements, but enough really is enough.”
Watch the interview below:
Bernie Sanders' campaign takes on billionaires. Does he take this war too far? Bernie says: "no one is denigrating people who made significant achievements, but enough really is enough." #FNS #2020 pic.twitter.com/zNuL2QkIfT
— Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) March 8, 2020
Additionally, Sanders referenced his former presidential rival Michael Bloomberg — who spent more than half a billion dollars on his failed presidential bid — and asked whether he really “needs” that large of a fortune.
“Does Mike Bloomberg really need sixty-five billion dollars to see his wealth increase by $15 billion in the last three years?” he asked.
Sanders has campaigned on a democratic socialistic platform and vowed to implement new taxes on the wealthiest Americans to, as he says, “reduce the outrageous and grotesque and immoral level of income and wealth inequality.”