Mark Cuban’s wealth inequality plan: Higher taxes for companies that keep equity from employees
Cuban also gave equity and cash bonuses to employees at MicroSolutions, his first IT consulting company.
- Aug 27, 2026,
- Updated Aug 27, 2026 6:00 AM IST
Mark Cuban wants companies to give employees a bigger share of the wealth they help create.
The billionaire entrepreneur has proposed higher corporate taxes for businesses that do not offer equity to their workers, saying employee ownership could help narrow the widening wealth gap in the US, according to a report by The Fortune.
Cuban, who is reportedly worth more than $10 billion, shared the proposal while discussing ways to reduce wealth inequality. In a post on X, he said companies that do not offer equity to every employee should face higher taxes, with the benefit linked to the shares held by non-founder executives.
Cuban wrote that his plan would "Increase the taxes of any company that doesn't offer equity to every employee on a pro rata basis to non-founder executives. If they get rich from the market, so do they."
He said the approach is based on what he has done at companies he founded, adding that "Most wealthy people get that way from selling their companies or taking them public."
Don't Miss: India emerges as Kenya’s new fuel lifeline as West Asia supply disruptions deepen
Cuban has already shared wealth with employees
Cuban has previously used employee stock ownership at his businesses.
Speaking on a recent episode of the What It Takes podcast, Cuban said he awarded stock to 330 employees at Broadcast.com before Yahoo acquired the company for $5.7 billion in 1999. He has said 300 of those employees became millionaires as a result.
Cuban also gave equity and cash bonuses to employees at MicroSolutions, his first IT consulting company.
His latest proposal takes that approach further by using the tax system to encourage companies to share equity more widely.
The proposal could also raise concerns about whether higher corporate taxes would eventually affect consumers. Higher costs for companies can sometimes be passed on to customers, putting additional pressure on household budgets.
Cuban, however, argues that businesses have room to decide how they respond to higher costs. Responding to concerns over the impact of taxes on companies, he wrote on X, "Each entrepreneur decides what margins, gross or net, they are willing to accept. For competitive or any other reason."
He also argued that taxes can still benefit businesses by supporting the wider community. Cuban said, "Some of us realize that even though we might not enjoy paying taxes, and know that maybe 40% of the taxes paid actually get to people who need it, that's still a value for the community, which can help your business."
On employee ownership, Cuban said that "Every founder worth a damn knows that the greatest success, economic and personal, comes from aligning the goals and interests of as many stakeholders as possible. Everyone will benefit more, when everyone benefits more."
Wealth gap remains wide
Federal Reserve data highlights the scale of the wealth gap in the US.
In the first quarter of 2016, the bottom 50% of the wealth distribution held $1.02 trillion in assets, compared with $10.75 trillion held by the top 0.1%.
By the first quarter of 2026, assets held by the bottom 50% had risen to $4.27 trillion, an increase of more than 300% over the decade. The top 0.1%, however, held $25.07 trillion in assets.
The gap is also visible in corporate equities and mutual funds. The top 90% to 99% of the wealth distribution currently own $20.5 trillion in these assets, while the bottom 50% own a little under $0.6 trillion.
Must Read: Moderna's cancer vaccine cuts melanoma recurrence risk in early trial: What we know
AI boom is creating new billionaire employees
Cuban is not the only entrepreneur looking at how the AI boom is changing wealth distribution.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has seen his wealth rise sharply as the chipmaker's stock has surged. Some of the company's senior executives have also become billionaires through their stock holdings.
Nvidia CFO Colette Kress and executive vice president of worldwide field operations Jay Puri are both now worth more than $1 billion, according to calculations by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The rise of wealthy employees also raises a question for technology companies: how do they keep workers motivated when some employees become extremely wealthy through stock compensation?
Huang addressed the issue while speaking on a panel hosted by venture capitalists behind the All-In podcast. He said he personally reviews compensation across Nvidia's workforce and that "100% of the time, I increase the company's spend on [operating expenses]. And the reason for that is because you take care of people, everything else takes care of itself."
Cuban has similarly warned that a widening income gap could create problems for businesses as well as society. He wrote on X that "If we continue to see growing disparity in income, you risk unrest and further division, which is the most expensive tax on every business."
Mark Cuban wants companies to give employees a bigger share of the wealth they help create.
The billionaire entrepreneur has proposed higher corporate taxes for businesses that do not offer equity to their workers, saying employee ownership could help narrow the widening wealth gap in the US, according to a report by The Fortune.
Cuban, who is reportedly worth more than $10 billion, shared the proposal while discussing ways to reduce wealth inequality. In a post on X, he said companies that do not offer equity to every employee should face higher taxes, with the benefit linked to the shares held by non-founder executives.
Cuban wrote that his plan would "Increase the taxes of any company that doesn't offer equity to every employee on a pro rata basis to non-founder executives. If they get rich from the market, so do they."
He said the approach is based on what he has done at companies he founded, adding that "Most wealthy people get that way from selling their companies or taking them public."
Don't Miss: India emerges as Kenya’s new fuel lifeline as West Asia supply disruptions deepen
Cuban has already shared wealth with employees
Cuban has previously used employee stock ownership at his businesses.
Speaking on a recent episode of the What It Takes podcast, Cuban said he awarded stock to 330 employees at Broadcast.com before Yahoo acquired the company for $5.7 billion in 1999. He has said 300 of those employees became millionaires as a result.
Cuban also gave equity and cash bonuses to employees at MicroSolutions, his first IT consulting company.
His latest proposal takes that approach further by using the tax system to encourage companies to share equity more widely.
The proposal could also raise concerns about whether higher corporate taxes would eventually affect consumers. Higher costs for companies can sometimes be passed on to customers, putting additional pressure on household budgets.
Cuban, however, argues that businesses have room to decide how they respond to higher costs. Responding to concerns over the impact of taxes on companies, he wrote on X, "Each entrepreneur decides what margins, gross or net, they are willing to accept. For competitive or any other reason."
He also argued that taxes can still benefit businesses by supporting the wider community. Cuban said, "Some of us realize that even though we might not enjoy paying taxes, and know that maybe 40% of the taxes paid actually get to people who need it, that's still a value for the community, which can help your business."
On employee ownership, Cuban said that "Every founder worth a damn knows that the greatest success, economic and personal, comes from aligning the goals and interests of as many stakeholders as possible. Everyone will benefit more, when everyone benefits more."
Wealth gap remains wide
Federal Reserve data highlights the scale of the wealth gap in the US.
In the first quarter of 2016, the bottom 50% of the wealth distribution held $1.02 trillion in assets, compared with $10.75 trillion held by the top 0.1%.
By the first quarter of 2026, assets held by the bottom 50% had risen to $4.27 trillion, an increase of more than 300% over the decade. The top 0.1%, however, held $25.07 trillion in assets.
The gap is also visible in corporate equities and mutual funds. The top 90% to 99% of the wealth distribution currently own $20.5 trillion in these assets, while the bottom 50% own a little under $0.6 trillion.
Must Read: Moderna's cancer vaccine cuts melanoma recurrence risk in early trial: What we know
AI boom is creating new billionaire employees
Cuban is not the only entrepreneur looking at how the AI boom is changing wealth distribution.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has seen his wealth rise sharply as the chipmaker's stock has surged. Some of the company's senior executives have also become billionaires through their stock holdings.
Nvidia CFO Colette Kress and executive vice president of worldwide field operations Jay Puri are both now worth more than $1 billion, according to calculations by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The rise of wealthy employees also raises a question for technology companies: how do they keep workers motivated when some employees become extremely wealthy through stock compensation?
Huang addressed the issue while speaking on a panel hosted by venture capitalists behind the All-In podcast. He said he personally reviews compensation across Nvidia's workforce and that "100% of the time, I increase the company's spend on [operating expenses]. And the reason for that is because you take care of people, everything else takes care of itself."
Cuban has similarly warned that a widening income gap could create problems for businesses as well as society. He wrote on X that "If we continue to see growing disparity in income, you risk unrest and further division, which is the most expensive tax on every business."