Berkshire Hathaway, led by CEO Warren Buffett, paid an estimated $26.8 billion in federal taxes for 2024, marking the largest-ever tax payment made to the U.S. government by a corporation. This record payment, representing 5% of all corporate taxes collected in 2024, was driven by significant gains from selling Apple stock.
In 2021, Elon Musk set a record by paying an estimated $10–11 billion in taxes—the largest single-year tax payment ever made by an individual. The staggering bill came after he exercised about 23 million Tesla stock options awarded back in 2012 that were nearing expiration.
Musk paid $455 million in taxes on $1.52 billion of income between 2014 and 2018. According to ProPublica, Musk paid no federal income taxes in 2018. He stated his 2021 tax bill was estimated at $12 billion based on his sale of $14 billion worth of Tesla stock.
For tax year 2023, the top tax rate (37 percent) applies to taxable income over $578,125 for single filers and over $693,750 for married couples filing jointly.
Elon Musk paid $11 billion in taxes in 2021, because when you exercise stock options you're taxed on the gain. The median income tax paid in is $22000 per year per taxpayer. At $22,000, it would take 500,000 years to pay in what Elon paid in one year.
One of the biggest reasons Bezos pays little in personal income tax is that he doesn't rely on a traditional salary. Instead, he holds most of his wealth in Amazon stock. Here's why this matters: Capital gains taxes are much lower than income taxes in most cases.
Yes, Elon Musk's foundation gave $55 million to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in 2021, following his public pledge of $50 million during the Inspiration4 space mission to help the hospital reach its fundraising goals, contributing to a total of over $200 million raised by the mission.
The top individual marginal income tax rate tended to increase over time through the early 1960s, with some additional bumps during war years. The top income tax rate reached above 90% from 1944 through 1963, peaking in 1944, when top taxpayers paid an income tax rate of 94% on their taxable income.
In some years, billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and George Soros paid no federal income taxes at all. Billionaires avoid these taxes by taking out special ultra-low-interest loans available only to them and using their assets as collateral.
There are several ways to reduce tax bills and pay no taxes legally, and one of the easiest ways is to take full advantage of a self-employment tax deduction scheme. In the US, this deduction allows you to deduct a portion of your self-employed income from your taxable profit, provided there are allowable expenses.
The country that has the highest taxes is the Ivory Coast (60%), according to statistics platform Data Panda's 2025 survey.
Before the Trump tax cuts (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 - TCJA), individual income tax rates ranged from 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35%, up to a top rate of 39.6%, with different income brackets for single and married filers, while the top corporate tax rate was 35%, significantly higher than the post-TCJA 21% rate. The TCJA maintained seven brackets but adjusted rates and income thresholds, alongside major changes to deductions, credits, and the corporate tax structure, notes this Tax Foundation article.
Lawmakers are hesitant to cut programs or services people rely on, making tax hikes the more probable solution. Buffett also shared just how much Berkshire Hathaway contributes to the federal government, revealing an astonishing figure: "We sent in over $5 billion to the US federal government last year.
While the top statutory tax rate in the 1950s was much higher (91%) than today's rate of 37%, the effective tax rate for the top 1% was lower due to numerous deductions and loopholes. In reality, top earners in the 1950s were paying about 42-45% of their income in taxes, while today, it's closer to 26-28%.
The average income tax rate in 2022 was 14.5 percent. The top 1 percent of taxpayers paid a 23.1 percent average rate, six times higher than the 3.7 percent average rate paid by the bottom half of taxpayers.
Elon Musk donated over $288 million to support Donald Trump and other Republicans in the 2024 election cycle, primarily through his own super PAC, America PAC, making him a major political financier. While he gave millions directly to Trump-aligned super PACs like MAGA Inc. and party committees, most funds went to America PAC for get-out-the-vote efforts in swing states, with significant contributions coming in late 2024.
Taylor Swift has donated millions to various causes, including a recent $5 million to Feeding America for hurricane relief (2024) and $1 million to Feeding America, the American Heart Association, and MusiCares, plus a significant contribution to Operation Breakthrough, while also giving directly to fans and disaster victims, with her total public giving exceeding tens of millions over the years, including large bonuses for her Eras Tour staff.