In August 2020, Rep. Ilhan Omar (DFL) introduced the Make Billionaires Pay Act to Congress, wIn August 2020, Rep. Ilhan Omar (DFL) introduced the Make Billionaires Pay Act to Congress, which would have imposed a 60% tax on the gains in wealth billionaires made between March 18, 2020 and January 1, 2021. This proposal was open to the criticisms which apply to any wealth tax, namely that an increase in the notional value of your assets does not necessarily translate into an increase in the amount of cash available to you to pay the tax. The latest twist in the tawdry tale of Rep. Omar’s own finances illustrate this.
In her latest financial disclosure, Rep. Omar reports that she and her husband, former political consultant Tim Mynett, had a net worth at the end of 2024 of between $6 million and $30 million. As the Washington Free Beacon reports, this wealth “is derived almost entirely from the value of Mynett’s ownership stake in his two companies that, together, were worth no more than $51,000 at the end of 2023.” This means that “her and her husband’s net worth skyrocketed by at least 3,500 percent in just one year.” The Biden economy worked for somebody.
So much is public record reported by Rep. Omar herself. Nevertheless, when this was reported, she reacted angrily, posting a rant on Instagram:
Another day, another lying headline about millions of dollars that, apparently, I have. So, if you look at this document, you could see it says, “Assets and Unearned Income.” If you look at the asset for one million to five million, the income is five to fifteen thousand, and if you look at the asset for five million to twenty-five million, it says “None,” right there. Ah, learn to read before you post misleading shit.
Rep. Omar never actually explains what lies the headline contains. It reads “Ilhan Omar Said It’s ‘Categorically False’ To Call Her a Millionaire. Her Net Worth Just Reached Up to $30 Million, an Increase of at Least 3,500 Percent in One Year,” which is an accurate summary of her own financial disclosures.
Either way, if Rep. Omar’s argument is that she isn’t a millionaire because, while her assets might be worth millions her income is only in the thousands, she has acknowledged the very problem with the wealth tax she pushed back in 2020. If these millions of dollars are only apparent and not real because they are assets and not income, then how can one be taxed on them?
If having billions in assets makes you a billionaire, having millions in assets makes you a millionaire, however much you might rant and rave on social media. A word of advice: Learn the difference between assets and income before proposing tax policy.