Davos billionaires are nervously laughing at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's tax plan

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 23 January 2019

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) says it's "wrong" that billionaires exist in a country where there's extreme poverty. Unsurprisingly, one massive gathering of international billionaires isn't thrilled.

Ocasio-Cortez is among a wave of progressives proposing big changes to fight economic inequality, notably mentioning a "60 or 70 percent" marginal tax rate on America's top earners. That proposal has drawn harsh criticism from conservatives, and got similar feedback when posed to the super-rich gathered in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum on Wednesday.

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Anand Giridharadas, an author who's known for progressive economic ideas like Ocasio-Cortez's, got a laugh from former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair for suggesting rich elites "broke the modern world." Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates suggested those same ideas were reminiscent of "communism." And when all was Davosed and done, Ocasio-Cortez fired back with her signature Twitter sass. Kathryn Krawczyk

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

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