# Kirby's wealth tax comment

Business · Heat 2.5 / 10 · 4 shows · 17m airtime

In an October 2026 New York Times interview, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said he would support a national wealth tax and an inheritance tax of close to 100 percent, arguing passive wealth growth escapes tax through stepped-up basis. A Wall Street Journal op-ed criticized the comments, and Kirby, appearing on Squawk Pod, said he is not a policy advocate and would prefer lower income taxes with taxes on wealth gains. He has since said he pays about 53 percent in taxes in California, a figure that now anchors the argument over whether his original remarks were a considered position or an offhand one.

Page: https://boilpoints.com/point/kirbys_wealth_tax_comment_382985729

## Segments

- [Squawk Pod](https://boilpoints.com/u/squawkpod), 2026-10-21, 52:35 to 56:59: **Defends the wealth tax comment as fairness**. Kirby defends his New York Times comment on a wealth tax and a near-100 percent inheritance tax, framing it as fairness over stepped-up basis, and downplays it as one guy's view after a Wall Street Journal op-ed pushed back. New angle: Kirby says he pays about 53 percent in taxes in California.
- [Morning Brew Daily](https://boilpoints.com/u/morningbrewdaily), 2026-10-22, 12:36 to 16:23: **Recaps the wealth tax firestorm and the backlash**. Recaps the Kirby wealth tax firestorm: the New York Times quote, the Bloomberg follow-up where he defended it, and the conservative backlash. Adds color on his $32.3 million pay and Jensen Huang's contrast, but stays inside the existing record.
- [Marketplace](https://boilpoints.com/u/marketplace), 2026-10-23, 0:57 to 8:10: **Recaps Holman's interview on the wealth tax**. Recaps Jordan Holman's New York Times interview with Kirby, with Holman saying he called for a 100 percent wealth tax because inequality has reached a dangerous level. It stays inside the interview already on the record, folded into a Fed-and-consumer panel.
- [Bloomberg Surveillance](https://boilpoints.com/u/bloombergsurveillance), 2026-10-24, 8:00 to 9:28: **Recaps the wealth tax endorsement**. Recaps Kirby's endorsement of a national wealth tax, crediting Lisa Bromwitz's interview and Jordan Holman's earlier sit-down, and frames it as the idea picking up steam. Stays inside the coverage already on the record.