Now that Rick Santorum is out of the race and concentrating on making his ailing three-year-old daughter a lifetime NRA member, likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is very confident in an interview with ABC News' Diane Sawyer. He says that President Obama should "start packing." Ann Romney, cause celebre/"daughter of privilege", added, "I believe it’s… Mitt’s time… It’s our turn now." more ›

You know how the economy is still in a recession and too many people are unemployed and people hate taxing the wealthy? Well, chew on this: New York City's richest man, David Koch, the industrialist and the shadowy Tea Party patron, is worth $25 billion, up from $21.5 billion last year, according to new data from Forbes. Mayor Bloomberg clocks in as the Big Apple's second rich guy—he was only worth $18 billion last year, but now Forbes estimates his wealth at $20 billion. That's more money for million-dollar couches and six-figure lighting fixtures! more ›

If you were wondering why Republicans fought tooth and nail this summer to keep corporate tax loopholes off the bargaining table during the debt-ceiling negotiations, it's because the CEOs of those companies make lots of money shirking their tax responsibilities. A report conducted by the Institute for Policy Studies found that "25 major U.S. corporations last year paid their chief executives more than they paid Uncle Sam in federal income taxes." Tax rebates didn't come from low profits, but from "aggressive corporate tax-dodging" using overseas tax shelters and exploiting loopholes. more ›

Much like Halley's Comet, a playboy that spends as much money as mysterious Malaysian man Taek Jho Low only "comes around once in a lifetime," according to Manhattan nightclub owners. The city's club owners have been fighting to woo the Wharton Business School alum, who has spent tens of thousands of dollars purchasing more than 100 bottles of Cristal champagne in a single night, according to Page Six. Little is known about the 28-year-old other than his big spending habits, his address at the ritzy the Park Imperial, and his celebrity pals — and sources say he'd like to keep it that way. A friend, who described Low as a "dealmaker with interests in the Mideast and Asia in construction, oil and gas," told the paper: "He's not an arms dealer. And he doesn't want all this publicity." more ›

The NY Times reports that a group of Democratic State Senators are introducing a bill to tax the wealthy, to help shore up state revenue: "New York households that earn more than $250,000 in taxable income a year would see their tax rate rise to 8.25 percent from 6.85 percent — the highest rate currently paid. Those who earn more than $500,000 would pay 8.97 percent; and those who earn more than $1 million would pay 10.3 percent." Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver supports taxing the upper income brackets, while Governor Paterson does not (though he did concede, last December, that might be a possibility). However, State Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith said of the bill, "The problem is foreclosures. The problem is a $15 billion deficit. The problem is trying to figure out how do we create jobs in this economy. So in that regard, I’m not sure if taxes is the way you do that.” more ›

As he grapples with a $15.4 billion budget deficit for this year and next, Governor Paterson voiced his opposition to taxing the rich. According to the Post, Paterson explained, "What I'm saying is if you tax the rich right now, while the economy is disintegrating, you're going to lose jobs and you're also going to lose from the tax base as people leave the state. In my opinion, you're [compounding] the problem, not eradicating it. I don't think that taxing the rich is the best way to go right now." (That's also a refrain Mayor Bloomberg has made.) On the other hand, Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver is all for taxing upper income brackets: In remarks to the United Teachers Federation, Silver said, "Clearly, as a state, we need to ask ourselves if the best way to balance the budget is to make deep cuts in our classrooms or to ask the wealthiest New Yorkers to contribute a little bit more?" Which makes the Legislature's and Paterson's apparent agreement on a budget (press conference happening in Albany now) more interesting! more ›

There's an entire Flickr set of photos designed to make you boil over with envy on this fine summer day, it's called: Rich People Rooftops NYC. While they are all lacking a Ronald McDonald--gardens, hot tubs, patio furniture and multi-level luxury are all present and accounted for in the rooftop wonderlands. Too bad there's not an aerial shot of the roof house on 13th and 3rd, but these images will probably stir up enough jealousy for one day. [via Curbed] more ›

The Federal Reserve Board may be sending distress signals about a “prolonged and severe economic downturn,” but ultrarich individuals like hedge fund manager Lee Tachman aren’t sweating it; the 38-year-old Tachman just spent $50,000 on a four day vacation to Miami with three of his bros. According to a ‘Happy Monday’ article in the Times, Tachman’s crew rolled with a “private jet, helicopter, Hummer limousine, Ferraris and Lamborghinis; stayed in V.I.P. rooms at Casa Casuarina, the South Beach hotel that was formerly Gianni Versace’s mansion; and played 'extreme adventure paintball' with former agents of the DEA.” more ›