Richard Stern
ON THE RECORD · 6 verbatim quotes · every quote source-verified
“In their mind, every tax they do is some attempt to get money from people who create wealth and move it to the state,”
Richard Stern · said date not stated · reported 2026-11-04
Stern commented on how proponents view taxation during an interview with Fox News Digital.
“We're taking the means of production out of the hands of people that built those businesses, that manage those businesses, and giving them to Bernie Sanders and AOC and politicians to run them,”
Richard Stern · said date not stated · reported 2026-11-04
Stern argued that Proposition 40 amounts to socialism by transferring control of businesses from their builders to politicians like Bernie Sanders and AOC.
“[It] gets back to the old half-joke about communism and the wall in Berlin, which is, as Reagan said, they build walls that keep people in where normally we build walls to keep people out.”
Richard Stern · said date not stated · reported 2026-11-04
Stern compared wealth tax enforcement to the Berlin Wall, quoting Reagan's observation that communist walls keep people in rather than out.
“You can more easily leave California, but you could give up American citizenship and move abroad,”
Richard Stern · said date not stated · reported 2026-11-04
Stern noted that while people can leave California, a national wealth tax would face the same capital flight problem internationally.
“They have no idea that we’re talking about a trillion-dollar company, we’re talking about a trillion dollars’ worth of factories and warehouses and delivery trucks and machinery.”
Richard Stern · said date not stated · reported 2026-11-04
Stern continued his critique, noting that billionaire wealth is tied up in physical assets like factories, warehouses, and machinery.
“The left looks at a billionaire, and they assume that they’re sitting on $10 billion, $100 billion in cash. I hate to break it to them: There’s no cash,”
Richard Stern · said date not stated · reported 2026-11-04
Stern argued that critics of billionaires misunderstand the nature of wealth, assuming it exists as cash.