This idea from some people that the government should heavily tax
@elonmusk - the world's best capital allocator - and transfer a significant portion of that wealth to the government, one of the worst capital allocators, makes little sense, especially since much of his earned wealth exists because the companies he built have become far more valuable by creating products and services people value and are willingly to pay for.
Elon may have a high net worth, but virtually all of it is tied up in company stock. He doesn't have tens of billions of dollars in cash. Taxing his wealth would likely force him to sell significant amounts of that stock, putting downward pressure on the share price and negatively affecting millions of people who themselves own shares in those companies directly or through ETFs, mutual funds, pension funds, and 401(k)s.
I think I saw somewhere that Elon's companies have paid over $100 billion in salaries. Those salaries are taxed. Beyond that, his companies have already generated enormous economic value for America and the other regions that his companies operate in.
You want Elon Musk to do good for the world? Great, he already is:
โข Tesla: Accelerating the transition to sustainable energy and developing safety technologies like FSD that saves lives.
โข SpaceX: Expanding internet access through Starlink in underserved and low-income regions, saving the U.S. government $40 billion (according to the Pentagon), and restored America's ability to launch astronauts from American soil again.
โข Neuralink: Giving paralyzed individuals new levels of independence with brain chips. Next, they aim to give blind people the ability to literally see.
Taking capital away from someone who has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to turn it into productive businesses, jobs, innovation, and economic growth, and handing it to a government with a far less effective track record of capital allocation - doesn't strike me as a good trade. Elon's wealth isn't a bug in our system, it's a feature of living in a country where entrepreneurs have the opportunity to build companies that create enormous value for society.