United Airlines Chief Executive Scott Kirby has urged Washington to impose a federal wealth tax and near-100% inheritance levies on America's wealthiest households, thrusting corporate compensation and widening economic disparities into sharp focus.
Kirby, who pocketed $32.28 million (₹302.71 crore) in executive pay in 2025, argued that runaway wealth concentration poses systemic hazards to social stability that market forces alone cannot resolve. He insisted that piecemeal state-level measures will fail because wealthy targets will simply relocate across state lines, leaving a uniform national policy as the only viable mechanism.
"We should have a national wealth tax. It won't work by state because people will just move," Kirby said in public remarks outlining his stance. "And I think we should have inheritance taxes that get close to 100 per cent at some level. I would pay them."
Kirby took aim at core structural advantages embedded in the tax code, specifically denouncing the "stepped-up basis" rule that protects inherited fortunes. Under current statutory rules, inherited assets reset to fair market value at the time of the benefactor's death, wiping away decades of accumulated capital gains taxes for heirs before they sell a single share.
The existing system penalizes physical labor while subsidizing idle capital. Kirby argued that federal policymakers should aggressively target surging asset valuations and reinvestment portfolios, while cutting taxes levied on direct wage income. He stressed that his proposals do not signal an entry into politics or an organized lobbying campaign.
Yet the scale of Kirby's own executive package underscores the very wage disparities drawing public scrutiny. Corporate regulatory disclosures show Kirby took home 334 times the compensation of his company's median worker during the 2025 fiscal cycle.
| Compensation & Wealth Distribution Metric | Official Figure | Basis / Cohort |:--- |:--- |:--- |Scott Kirby Total 2025 Compensation | $32.28M (₹302.71 Cr) | United Airlines Executive Disclosure |Base Salary | $1.20M | Fixed Annual Pay |Stock Awards | $22.60M | Equity-Based Compensation |Non-Equity Incentive Plan | $8.00M | Performance Bonuses |Other Compensation | ~$500,000 | Executive Perquisites & Benefits |United Airlines Median Worker Pay | $96,670 | Airline Workforce Baseline |Executive-to-Worker Pay Ratio | 334:1 | United Airlines Disclosure |Top 1% National Wealth Share (Q2 2026) | 32.5% | Federal Reserve Flow of Funds |Bottom 50% National Wealth Share (Q2 2026) | 2.3% | Federal Reserve Flow of Funds |Current Federal Estate Tax Ceiling | 40% | ~$15 Million Exemption Baseline (2026) |
Central bank data highlights the accelerating velocity of American capital accumulation at the very top. Federal Reserve data for the second quarter of 2026 revealed that the wealthiest 1% of households held 32.5% of total national net worth, expanding from 31.1% recorded during the corresponding period a year earlier.
The bottom half of American households held just 2.3%.
Congress currently levies no federal inheritance tax on beneficiaries. Instead, the Internal Revenue Service relies on an estate tax that peaks at 40%, shielded by an individual lifetime exemption baseline of roughly $15 million in 2026.
United Airlines executive representatives declined to provide specific financial thresholds for Kirby's proposed brackets, and did not clarify whether the airline considers expansive executive-to-worker pay gaps a direct engine of national economic inequality.