Millionaire trader-turned-inequality campaigner Gary Stevenson is proposing a 2% annual tax on all those who have wealth above £10 million in the UK. The TV presenter will set out his argument in a Channel 4 programme in which he explores the growing concentration of wealth in Britain.
Current Wealth Inequality in the UK
Stevenson says that the UK's poorest billionaire, with a wealth of just £1 billion, makes £50 million a year in passive income at a rate of just 5%. That is nearly £1 million every week, without getting out of bed. In the UK, the richest 56 people have equal wealth to 27 million people. In 2025 alone, the average billionaire grew their wealth by £231 million. Meanwhile wages, in real terms, are lower than they were almost 20 years ago and the average student debt in England has soared from £3,200 in 2000 to £53,000 today.
Gary Stevenson's Argument
Gary, 40, argues that if nothing changes, the concentration of wealth at the top will only accelerate. "If this continues, it is inevitable that the billionaires and the super-rich will own a larger and larger share of the real wealth of this country, meaning other groups in society, the working class, the middle class, and the government will progressively own less and less. If we do not do anything about this system then very, very quickly the billionaires will own everything, and you will own nothing."
How the Wealth Tax Would Work
Taxing wealth rather than income is not a new idea - Norway, Switzerland and Spain already have wealth taxes. Under his proposal, a person worth £11 million would pay £20,000 in tax a year, while someone worth one billion would pay £20 million. Some estimates suggest that this system could raise £24 billion annually, enough to fund the NHS, build affordable housing or cut taxes for workers on lower incomes.
Public and Expert Support
A poll of 4,142 British adults found that 75% of the public support a wealth tax, along with many experts. Gabriel Zucman, Professor of Economics, tells Gary: "There is a problem in our tax systems which is that the very rich have lower effective tax rates than the rest of the population."
Opposition from the Wealthy
But there are plenty of billionaires, aristocrats, tax experts and finance influencers who argue against it. In the programme, Reform party donor and billionaire entrepreneur Bassim Haidar - whose wealth is growing at around 12% a year, says that if it happened, he'd sell his businesses and quit Britain. "I would exit completely. Yeah, even if I sell them at a loss, I don't care, cause it becomes a matter of principle. Wealth is mobile, so I'll walk away. And listen, I'll take a hit for one year, that's fine. But then I'll go, and I'll never come back."
Gary's Response
Gary, who grew up in Ilford, east London, the son of a postman, thinks Haidar is scaremongering. "Rich people generate the majority of their income from owning assets. Your house, your supermarket, the farms that grow your food, the power plants that create your energy," he argues. "Many wealthy people own assets which are fundamentally fixed to this country."
Support from Some Millionaires
He also discovers wealthy people who are quite happy to give a bit more. Julia Davies, who made her fortune building an accessories business and is a member of a group called Patriotic Millionaires, is one of them: "We've got to stop normalising this idea that it is normal to try and avoid contributing to public services and infrastructure, if you can massively afford to do that. I'm a millionaire, I'm not going anywhere. Why would I uproot myself and my family just to avoid contributing a bit more?"
The programme, How to Get Filthy Rich with Gary Stevenson, airs Wednesday 8 July at 9pm on Channel 4.
