Biden is ‘the right man to address inequality’: Democratic megadonor

President-elect Joe Biden unveiled a $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan on Thursday that includes a $400 unemployment insurance supplement, a minimum wage hike, and $1,400 stimulus checks. The potential economic lifeline for struggling Americans comes in the wake of a report showing new jobless claims have reached a level not seen since last August.

Billionaire media investor Haim Saban, a longtime Democratic megadonor who gave more than $4 million to the party’s campaign committees over the 2020 cycle, lauded Biden in a new interview as “the right man to address inequality” amid the economic downturn brought about by the pandemic.

Saban, a power broker often aligned with the moderate wing of the Democratic Party, urged aggressive government action to help people who’ve fallen on difficult times.

“I'm fully supportive in principle for the government to do the maximum to help the people that need help,” Saban says.

‘It is unequal’

Billionaires in the U.S. added $1 trillion to their net worth during the coronavirus outbreak, according to an Americans for Tax Fairness analysis released in December. The ultra-rich accumulated that wealth while tens of millions of workers have lost their jobs, exacerbating inequality that had already reached heightened levels before the pandemic.

Saban plainly acknowledged the nation’s uneven distribution of wealth, and said Biden’s compassionate temperament will help the country tackle it.

“It is unequal,” Saban says. “I am truly, in my heart of heart, 100% convinced that he's the right man to address that inequality.”

“He is a guy with a heart,” Saban adds. “We missed heart over the last four years; we were all hurt by cynicism and division. It's time to put this behind us one way or the other.”

On the campaign trail, Biden criticized heightened levels of wealth inequality but refrained from the direct criticism of billionaires taken up by progressive opponents like senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

Biden supports a tax hike on wealthy Americans that would raise the top individual tax rate from 37% to 39.6%, according the Tax Policy Center. People with income greater than $1 million could face long-term capital gains rates of up to 39.6%, up from 20%.

Under the tax cut signed into law by Trump, the corporate tax rate fell from 35% to 21%. Biden’s tax proposal would raise the corporate tax rate to 28%, a midway point between current and pre-Trump levels.

Saban spoke to Serwer in an episode of “Influencers with Andy Serwer,” a weekly interview series with leaders in business, politics, and entertainment.

Known for his entertainment industry savvy, Saban rose to prominence in the 1990s with the creation of “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers,” which led to a joint production venture with News Corp. called the Fox Family Channel that later sold to Disney (DIS). Currently Saban serves as chairman and CEO of the private investment firm Saban Capital Group, which specializes in media and entertainment.

Speaking to Yahoo Finance, Saban backed additional COVID-19 relief in the form of direct checks. However, he declined to say exactly how much money those checks should provide each American, since he lacks full information about the implications of such spending for the federal government’s budget deficit, he said.

“In principle, I am 100% [supportive],” he says. “Whether it's $2,000 or $1,500 or whatever that number is, it really is above my pay grade.”

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