United CEO Kirby Earned $32.3 Million — Now Backs Near-100% Inheritance Tax

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby earned $32.3 million last year, about 334 times the pay of his median employee — and now he wants the federal government to tax the wealthy far harder, including an inheritance tax that could approach 100%.

"Wealth inequality has become a danger to our society, and we need to address that," Kirby said in an interview with The New York Times published Sunday. He added: "We should have a national wealth tax — it won't work by state because people will just move. And I think we should have inheritance taxes that get close to 100 percent at some level. I would pay them."

Kirby made the comments in response to a question about declining public trust in CEOs. His own pay package illustrates the divide he describes.

What did Kirby actually earn?

United's proxy statement breaks down his 2025 compensation:

• $1.2 million in base salary
• $22.6 million in stock awards
• $8 million in non-equity incentive compensation
• Roughly $500,000 in other compensation

Total: $32.28 million. United's median employee received $96,670, according to the same filing.

The gap mirrors a broader trend. CEO pay rose 11% in 2025 while worker pay rose just 0.5%, according to a study by the International Trade Union Confederation and Oxfam.

The comparison gets sharper at the wage level. In the Dallas area, where Kirby lives even though United is headquartered in Chicago, the airline advertised a part-time airport customer service job at $19.64 an hour. The role includes assisting passengers at boarding gates. Working 40 hours a week at that rate, with no raises, bonuses or overtime, it would take roughly 790 years to match Kirby's 2025 pay.

How wide is the wealth gap?

Federal Reserve data shows the divide still widening. The richest 1% of American households held 32.5% of the nation's total net worth in the second quarter of 2026, up from 31.1% a year earlier. The bottom half of households held 2.3%, down from 2.4%.

Kirby is not alone among executives acknowledging the backlash. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said in July that he understands anti-rich sentiment in some communities. A survey earlier this year found one in five Americans think it is morally wrong to be a billionaire. Other wealthy business leaders, including Bill Gates and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, have publicly supported raising taxes on the rich.

Not everyone welcomed Kirby's remarks. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry wrote on X that if Kirby feels that strongly, "he could simply cut a check," linking to the Treasury's fund for public donations to pay down the national debt.

What does the U.S. tax now?

Kirby did not specify the threshold for his proposed wealth tax, nor how much someone would need to inherit before facing a rate approaching 100%. That gap leaves his proposal as a statement of principle rather than a policy blueprint.

The current system works differently. The U.S. has no federal inheritance tax, though a handful of states levy one. The federal estate tax — paid by the estate rather than heirs — carries a top marginal rate of 40%, with a $15 million basic exclusion amount for people who die in 2026, according to the IRS.

Kirby, a longtime airline executive, joined United as president in 2016 and became CEO in 2020. He has lately made headlines for other reasons, including his reported interest in acquiring American Airlines.

Fortune asked United whether Kirby believes the gap between CEO and employee pay contributes to the inequality he described, and what tax thresholds and rates he would support. The airline did not respond. Without those specifics, Kirby's stance puts him on record favoring taxes he himself would pay — while his own proxy filing remains the most cited evidence for the gap he wants closed.