IRS Data Reveals a Thousand Private Business Owners Worth $25M for Every Large Public Company CEO
According to IRS tax data analyzed in a new book titled *The Everywhere Millionaire*, there are approximately one thousand private business owners with at least $25 million in wealth for every chief executive of large public companies. This finding, discussed on Bloomberg's Odd Lots podcast, highlights the underreported population of wealthy Americans who operate pass-through businesses and remain largely invisible due to IRS data anonymity. These private business owners are not typically tech or finance billionaires but instead include auto dealers, dentists, distributors, contractors, and other regional operators. The authors used yacht and jet registration data to identify some anonymized individuals in the dataset. This wealth tier is distinct from those targeted by current wealth-tax policies and executive pay reforms. The study challenges conventional perceptions of American wealth distribution, revealing a vast but overlooked segment of high-net-worth individuals who contribute significantly to economic activity without public scrutiny or media attention.
Topics: IRS tax data Private business owners Public company CEOs Wealth inequality