8 (Out of 400) Billionaires Say Yes to Higher Taxes

Salon sent queries to every single billionaire on the Forbes 400 asking whether they would be willing to pay more taxes. The results: Eight said yes (including Buffett), one said no (Charles Koch), and a few offered qualified answers somewhere in between. The other 390 or so—including Oprah, Mayor Bloomberg, and Steven Spielberg—didn't answer. Samples from those who did respond:

• Mark Cuban: "I have absolutely no problem paying more taxes. None. What I have a problem with is how the money is spent. If the incremental money could be directed to defined and deserved recipients, I would be thrilled to write the check."
• George Soros: "The rich hurt their own long term interests by their opposition to paying more taxes."
• Supermarket CEO John Catsimatidis: "All Americans should feel the pain equally; not be prejudiced only against a certain group."
• Charles Koch: "I believe my business and non-profit investments are much more beneficial to societal well-being than sending more money to Washington."

Read the full report here. (More billionaires stories.)