One of the more obnoxious myths pushed by the socialist left, and echoed by parts of the right that have lost faith in free markets, is that wealthy people never earned their fortunes. It's convenient sequel: Once you’re rich, your money does all the work, and you collect millions for doing nothing.
Progressive Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed gave that argument another airing over the weekend, defending a wealth tax in part because the wealthy “make [their] money off of [their own] money.” His explanation reduced wealth creation to a rather simple and shallow routine: Be a billionaire, collect the interest, and watch more millions pile up. Unfortunately for those who hate the wealthy, the reality is not so simple.
El-Sayed: "If you're a billionaire, you don't make your money off the money you earn working. You make your money off of your money." https://t.co/QLvy3Qn8nN
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 11, 2026
"If you were to tax people with $100 million or more, a wealth tax, and we're not even talking about a serious wealth tax, I just want to think this through, okay? Imagine you tax based on wealth, based on what your money made last year. If you're a billionaire, you don't work, you don't make your money off of the money you earn working. You make your money off of your money," El-Sayed said. "So if you're a billionaire earning 10 percent on your billion, you're making $100 million. So even if we tax you at eight percent, you know what you still made? $20 million doing nothing."
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To be fair, wealthy people can, and often do, earn returns on money they already have. But El-Sayed treats that as the end of the story, when it’s actually where the economic explanation begins. Money invested in businesses, or the stock market, finance expansion, jobs, and innovation for every other American. Why do you think the United States enjoys one of the largest venture capital markets on the face of the planet? The investor earns a return, sure, but that always finds a way to benefit others.
But El-Sayed’s argument falls apart even more when applied to business owners: If they’re making money by doing nothing, why do profits collapse when they’re gone? According to one economic study, companies lost an average of 75 percent of their profits when their owners unexpectedly died or retired. Apparently, that “nothing” was actually quite a bit of hard work.
El Sayed thinks the wealthy make money without doing anything. But this is demonstrably false. One paper showed that when company owners suddenly pass away or retire, their companies lose 75% of their profit on average. If who owned it didn't matter, we'd all be billionaires. https://t.co/F3BWKYOPCF
— Daniel Di Martino (@DanielDiMartino) October 11, 2026
That’s also the answer to those who insist that a free market always leads to monopolies, and allows dominant companies to rule forever. An heir can inherit a business, but not the founder’s talent, hunger, or ingenuity. When a company stops delivering, competitors have a chance to take its customers, and its place in the market.
Wealth in America is not built by doing “nothing.” And those who coast on a fortune can never expect the market to preserve it, unless, of course, politicians step in with taxpayer money to save them.
For most entrepreneurs, money was never the point. It was an idea, a goal, a desire to make the world better or provide something others needed. They’re addicted to working, even when they no longer have to. It is rather the socialists who desire nothing but a dollar amount.
Editor's Note: The Democrat Party has been infected by socialism, and it's spreading FAST. Democrats are claiming there's nothing to worry about, but we know the truth.
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