No one in the world should have a net worth of a billion dollars. No one.

[former9thward]

28. There was no redistribution in the 50s.

Government was tiny compared to now. There was no social welfare as we know it. No medical insurance. Government revenue was small because there was no need for more. There were few billionaires because our current value of money is about 10% of what it was in the 50s. There were plenty of millionaires.

The top tax rates were paid by almost nobody because of the loopholes which existed then and do not exist now. The tax code of the 1950s allowed upper-income Americans to take exemptions and deductions that are unheard of today. Tax shelters were widespread, and not just for the superrich. The working wealthy—including doctors, lawyers, business owners and executives—were versed in the art of creating losses to lower their tax exposure.

For instance, a 1950s doctor who earned $50,000 through his medical practice could reduce his taxable income to zero with $50,000 in paper losses or depreciation from property he owned through a real-estate investment partnership. Huge numbers of professionals signed up for all kinds of money-losing schemes. Today, a corresponding doctor earning $500,000 can deduct a maximum of $3,000 from his taxable income, no matter how large the loss.