United Airlines CEO faces rightwing backlash after calling for US wealth tax

Scott Kirby, the CEO of United Airlines, is under scrutiny from conservative politicians and commentators for saying wealth inequality is a “danger to society” and calling for a national wealth and inheritance tax in a recent interview.Talking to the New York Times, Kirby was asked about the growing public distrust of CEOs and whether he felt any responsibility to quell that distrust.“We should have a national wealth tax – it won’t work by state because people will just move,” he said. “And I think we should have inheritance taxes that get close to 100% at some level. I would pay them.”In response, headlines from Fox Business and the New York Post decried that Kirby made $32m in 2025. In response to Kirby’s comments, Glenn Beck, a former Fox News host, and other users on X called for a boycott of United Airlines. Jeff Landry, Louisiana’s governor, said the statement was “audacious”.“How audacious from a guy that didn’t even build @united and makes $32 million a year,” he wrote on X, adding a link to a government website to donate money to the government. “Better yet, he should distribute his salary to the employees at the bottom of the ladder @united!”“Let’s see you step up and place your money where your mouth is!” Landry added.The comment comes just two weeks before voters in California will decide on a so-called “billionaire’s tax”, which would put a 5% tax on the state’s billionaires, that the wealthy have been spending millions fighting against.Kirby was also asked about the rising cost of flying and said that high prices this year were being compared to the “artificial low” prices from the pandemic, which largely halted travel and highly disrupted the airline industry.“We have to charge enough that it covers the cost of flying, and it’s expensive to fly airplanes,” he said.When asked about the $70 passengers must pay to sit in an aisle or window seat if they aren’t a frequent flyer with United, Kirby responded that “the way to give everyone what they want is to charge for the services and products that those customers want,” adding: “There are customers that pay more that get more.”Kirby also maintained that fares were still lower than in 2019 after adjusting for inflation. According to data from the labor department, the index for airline fares increased by about 20% from September 2019 to September 2026, while overall consumer prices increased by 31%.