# United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby Calls for Wealth Tax, Faces Backlash

> United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby advocated for a national wealth tax and near-100% inheritance taxes, prompting debate and criticism given his own $32.28 million compensation in 2025.

By PrimaryBrief newsroom · Published 2026-10-23T23:13:37.504717Z
Canonical: https://primarybrief.com/article/united-airlines-ceo-scott-kirby-calls-for-wealth-tax-faces-backlash-2068b48e

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby publicly advocated for a national wealth tax and near-100% inheritance taxes in interviews on October 18 and October 21, 2026, despite his 2025 compensation of $32.28 million [1][2][3]. Kirby's statements have intensified a national discussion on wealth inequality and tax policy. His high executive pay and his proposals provoke questions about economic fairness and corporate leadership [4][5][10][11].

## What the records show
United Airlines' 2026 proxy statement details CEO Scott Kirby's 2025 compensation as $32.28 million [3]. This figure is approximately 334 times the median United employee salary of $96,670 for the same year [3]. Kirby's net worth is estimated to be at least $87 million, with some sources reporting it over $125.8 million [13][14][15]. Federal Reserve data cited by Fortune shows the richest 1% of U.S. households held 32.5% of the nation's net worth in the second quarter of 2026 [10]. Kiplinger reported the wealth gap as the widest in 30 years [11].

## The timeline
Kirby first expressed his views in an interview with The New York Times on October 18, 2026 [1]. He restated these sentiments on Bloomberg TV on October 21, 2026 [2]. Reactions from conservative commentators and politicians quickly followed these interviews [4][5].

## What changed and for whom
Kirby's statements shifted the public discourse by bringing a highly compensated CEO's perspective directly into the debate on wealth taxation [1][2]. This has generated significant criticism and calls for boycotts of United Airlines from some conservative figures [4][5]. For United Airlines, this has meant increased scrutiny and public relations challenges [6][7]. California voters are also set to decide on Proposition 40, a proposed "billionaire's tax" on the November 3, 2026 ballot, which would apply to individuals with a net worth of $1 billion or more [16][17][18].

## What the subject has said publicly
In The New York Times interview, Kirby stated, "Wealth inequality has become a danger to our society, and we need to address that. We should have a national wealth tax, it won't work by state because people will just move. And I think we should have inheritance taxes that get close to 100 percent at some level. I would pay them" [1]. He explained on Bloomberg TV that the current system allows the wealthy to avoid taxes on passive wealth growth. "It's not a policy advocacy, but I just think that the basic concept is one of fairness," Kirby said [12]. He also argued for taxing the increase in asset values for the wealthy while lowering income taxes for wage earners [12]. When asked about redistributing his own wealth to lower-paid United employees, Kirby replied, "Of course not," adding that even a "trillionaire" like Elon Musk doing so would "not be enough to make a difference" [12][20].

## What we could not confirm
We could not confirm the specific legislative details Kirby would propose for a national wealth tax, nor could we confirm the exact number of individuals who have ceased flying United Airlines due to calls for a boycott.

## Evidence cited
1. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby Advocates for Wealth Tax in Interview (The New York Times) — https://www.nytimes.com/
2. United CEO Scott Kirby Reiterates Wealth Tax Stance on Bloomberg TV (Bloomberg TV) — https://www.bloomberg.com/tv
3. United Airlines 2026 Proxy Statement (United Airlines Investor Relations) — https://ir.united.com/proxy-statement
4. Gov. Jeff Landry Criticizes United CEO Scott Kirby on X (X (formerly Twitter)) — https://twitter.com/JeffLandry
5. Glenn Beck and Other X Users Call for Boycott of United Airlines (X (formerly Twitter)) — https://twitter.com/
6. Fox Business Reports on United CEO Scott Kirby's Compensation and Tax Remarks (Fox Business) — https://www.foxbusiness.com/
7. New York Post Highlights United CEO Scott Kirby's Compensation Amid Tax Stance (The New York Post) — https://nypost.com/
8. Harmeet K. Dhillon Criticizes United Airlines Service on X (X (formerly Twitter)) — https://twitter.com/pnjaban
9. Americans for Tax Reform Warns Against Global Wealth Tax (Americans for Tax Reform) — https://www.atr.org/
10. Fortune Reports on US Wealth Inequality Citing Federal Reserve Data (Fortune) — https://fortune.com/
11. Kiplinger Notes Widening US Wealth Gap (Kiplinger) — https://www.kiplinger.com/
12. briefs.co — https://vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com/grounding-api-redirect/AUZIYQHPad2yDyn_7Nq9ficr3DXi60BcmFktl0e3KfQzCPfUBjunHS6V7r2Ly6q9zHaMklsGvOs3PVwjisuk1Wx02sUxxcvsu2RSEVxqPD_a-XTUdVcA3h6o2ee23uHYQ-RUAlNtitI0a3ME7Pyll-tCCcdCAXofj9tce7oibqQPnFtrq4gbrQ-9kvpcnl22Pq68AQSCwvw=
13. J Scott Kirby Net Worth (2026): At Least $87M | United Airlines Holdings CEO. — https://gurufocus.com/
14. J Scott Kirby $UAL SEC Form 4 Insider Trading — https://quiverquant.com/
15. Kiplinger Notes Widening US Wealth Gap — https://kiplinger.com/
16. California Proposition 40: What You Need to Know About the "Billionaire Tax" — https://procopio.com/
17. California Proposition 40 (2026) — https://wikipedia.org/
18. California Billionaire Tax: What Prop 40 Would Do — https://ridleylawoffices.com/
19. Proposition 40: Should California tax billionaires to fund healthcare? — https://kqed.org/
20. Scott Kirby's Tax Bombshell: United CEO Calls for 100% Inheritance Tax — https://theaviationhub.co.uk/