United Airlines CEO Warned About the Wealth Gap and Then Went Silent About His Paycheck

Scott Kirby runs an airline that charges extra for a better seat, a bigger bag, and faster boarding.

Then its CEO sat down with the New York Times and demanded the government seize fortunes bigger than his.

Kirby had one question Fox Business asked him directly, and he refused to answer it.

Scott Kirby Told the New York Times Wealth Inequality Is a Danger

Scott Kirby runs United Airlines and took home $32.3 million in total compensation in fiscal year 2025.

That works out to 334 times the airline's median employee compensation of $96,670, according to United's 2026 proxy statement.

His pay package breaks down into salary, stock awards, and performance incentives, the standard formula big airline executives use to stretch a number far past their base salary.

Kirby sat down with the New York Times and told the paper exactly what he thinks is wrong with America.

"Wealth inequality has become a danger to our society, and we need to address that," Kirby said.

He didn't stop there.

Kirby called for a national wealth tax, saying it "won't work by state, because people will just move."

He went further still, telling the Times he wants inheritance taxes that "get close to 100 percent at some level," adding, "I would pay them."

He never said at what net worth those taxes should kick in or what rate he'd actually support.

The Man Defending Premium Fees Wants You Taxed More

Kirby's interview covered more than wealth taxes.

He also defended United's premium seat pricing, telling the Times that a better seat simply "costs money to deliver."

United has built its whole pricing model around charging extra for legroom, preferred seating, and even overhead bin space on some of its cheapest fares.

Checked bags, seat selection, early boarding, and in-flight Wi-Fi all carry separate charges on top of the ticket price.

The story set off a backlash on social media, where one flier said United should drop its $500 fee on a two-hour domestic route before lecturing Washington about fairness.

Fox Business asked United how Kirby justifies taking home $32.3 million while warning that wealth inequality threatens the country, and whether he plans to cut his pay to share more with workers.

United answered neither question.

Fox Business host Dagen McDowell labeled the proposal "double taxation" on air and pointed to the hypocrisy of United's elite status pricing.

The Same Trick Bill Gates Pulled on Elizabeth Warren

This isn't the first time a billionaire has demanded a tax hike while living comfortably inside the system that made him rich.

Back in 2019, Microsoft founder Bill Gates stood on stage at the New York Times DealBook Conference and picked apart Elizabeth Warren's wealth tax instead of just signing up for one.

Gates said he had already paid more than $10 billion in taxes and could live with $20 billion, but balked the moment Warren's number climbed higher.

Warren's wealth tax plan would only touch households worth more than $50 million, taxing them 2 percent above that line and 3 percent above $1 billion.

That threshold exempts almost every American and nearly every fortune short of Kirby's, which is exactly the kind of fine print he skipped when he told the Times he wants inheritance taxed near 100 percent.

The same script played out on the Capitol steps in 2023, when a group calling itself the Patriotic Millionaires demanded Congress raise the tax rate on people exactly like them to 90 percent.

Heritage Foundation fellow Stephen Moore showed up to their Tax Day press conference and asked the obvious question: wasn't it their patriotic duty to just pay more right now, voluntarily, without waiting on a new law?

Heiress Abigail Disney called that idea "disingenuous" and said the group wanted Congress to change the law instead, not write bigger personal checks.

Kirby is running a cheaper version of the identical play.

He wants Washington to force a transfer of wealth he has shown no interest in making himself, through a tax bracket his $32.3 million salary and whatever else he has banked would clear with plenty of room to spare.

A real wealth tax starts in the mirror, not in someone else's paycheck.

Until Kirby answers Fox Business's two questions, his wealth inequality warning is a talking point from a man worth tens of millions who has yet to mention giving a dollar of it back.

Sources:

• Stepheny Price, "United CEO Silent on $32M Compensation After Calling Wealth Gap a Danger," Fox Business, October 20, 2026.
• Emily Zanotti, "Bill Gates Blasts Elizabeth Warren Over Her Wealth Tax," The Daily Wire, November 7, 2019.
• Fox Business Staff, "Elizabeth Warren Leads Renewed Charge for Wealth Tax on Ultra Rich," Fox Business, March 19, 2024.
• Fox News Staff, "Millionaires Asking Congress for 90% Top Tax Rate Confronted With Pledge to Pay More Voluntarily," Fox News, April 19, 2023.