“Have a little sympathy for the struggling billionaire class” —Bernie Sanders mocks
SAN FRANCISCO — Sen. Bernie Sanders used satire this week to lampoon a small pro-billionaire rally in San Francisco, posting that Americans should “have a little sympathy for the struggling billionaire class” as debate grows over a proposed California tax on the state’s wealthiest residents.
Let’s have a little sympathy for the struggling billionaire class. pic.twitter.com/iQLRE9iN2F
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 9, 2026
Sanders’ post circulated widely on X after a “March for Billionaires” took place Saturday in the city’s Pacific Heights area. The event was organized by a tech founder who argued that billionaires drive innovation and economic growth and that a new wealth-tax proposal would push rich residents out of California. Reports from local outlets described a modest turnout, along with counterprotesters who mocked the rally with parody signs and costumes, turning the event into a spectacle that drew more attention online than in person.
In his message, Sanders adopted a tongue-in-cheek tone to argue the opposite: that billionaires are not victims and that the country’s focus should be on working families and inequality. In the accompanying text, Sanders name-checked high-profile tech and business figures and rattled off exaggerated “problems” he suggested the ultra-wealthy face — framing luxuries like private staff, yachts and multiple properties as if they were burdens — to underline his long-running push for higher taxes on the rich.
The San Francisco rally came as supporters of a proposed California ballot measure push a one-time tax aimed at the state’s billionaires. News coverage has described the proposal as a one-time 5% tax tied to the wealthiest residents, with supporters arguing it could help backfill funding pressures and opponents warning it could accelerate an exodus of wealthy taxpayers. Gov. Gavin Newsom has opposed the idea, according to reporting.
The event also tapped into a broader, sometimes surreal argument playing out in Silicon Valley and beyond: whether public anger at inequality has reached a point where even the idea of rallying “for billionaires” — sincerely or as provocation — becomes a political statement. The Atlantic, which sent a reporter to the march, described the gathering as both a celebration of extreme wealth and a commentary on the internet-age collapse of irony.
For Sanders, the moment was an opportunity to sharpen a familiar message. The Vermont independent has spent years calling for policies such as higher taxes on the wealthy, expanded health coverage and stronger labor protections, and he has argued that concentrated wealth distorts democracy and leaves working people behind. His post did not reference specific legislation by name, but it fit neatly into that broader theme while drawing fresh attention to the unusual San Francisco rally and the tax fight surrounding it.
