BY DAVE PRICE
Daily Post Editor
Congressman Ro Khanna, who is eyeing a run for president, is the South Bay’s most outspoken critic of the rich. In fact, he co-sponsored the Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act with Sen. Bernie Sanders, that calls for a 5% annual wealth tax on billionaires.
Khanna isn’t a billionaire; his net worth is an estimated $340 million, according to financial disclosure reports members of Congress are required to file annually.
Khanna owns a 8,000-square-foot D.C. mansion with marble finishes and a four-story elevator.
The Washington Free Beacon, a right-of-center news site, says the Khannas are ditching the mansion and moving to an even larger and more expensive property nearby.
Khanna’s two children, who are minors, have trust funds and each fund owns large stakes in three private golf clubs, according to the disclosure forms analyzed by the Free Beacon.
The Free Beacon reports that Khanna’s wife drives a $190,000 Range Rover she was so displeased with that she sued the dealer.
The Khannas “live a life of staggering luxury, fueled by dynastic wealth they did not earn and protected by the same thicket of trusts, anonymous corporations, and foundations that Khanna condemns,” wrote Free Beacon reporter Andrew Kerr.
Khanna didn’t earn his fortune. In 2015, he married Ritu Ahuja, whose father, Monte Ahuja, is the founder of Transtar Industries in Cleveland, a distributor of auto parts. Khanna’s millions come from his wife’s family.
Despite his opulent wealth, the San Jose congressman bashes the rich and supports Democratic Socialist candidates such as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
When Khanna speaks, you’d never know about his wealth. Reporters with legacy news operations never question him about it in interviews. The Mercury News and Chronicle aren’t going to write about it. But now you know.
Editor Dave Price’s column appears on Mondays.
If redistribution of wealth is such a good idea, Khanna ought to go first. There’s nothing stopping him from writing a check to the IRS for 5% of his net worth, or about $17 million. When he does that, I’ll jump on the socialist bandwagon.
I’m glad he’s supporting socialism. Way to speak truth to power! Once we elect socialists, no rent, no ICE, free healthcare, free groceries, four-day work weeks, no payments on my college loan. It’s the good life we all deserve.
I’m glad he’s supporting socialism. Way to speak truth to power! Once we elect socialists, no rent, no ICE, free healthcare, free groceries, four-day work weeks, no payments on my college loan. It’s the good life we all deserve.
One of Dave’s best – maybe his all-time best- editorial.
The vast majority of your points lead to the conclusion of: The rich can’t criticize the economy because they benefit from it (“Despite his opulent wealth, the San Jose congressman bashes the rich and supports Democratic Socialist candidates). He may very well may deserve to be discredited, but your attempt here is so shallow as to be insulting to your readers. If there was some evidence of his being disingenuous in his beliefs and policies, we’d love to hear it. But you included nothing but the fact that he’s wealthy, and- better sit down for this one- people can criticize a system even if they benefit from it.
Clueless. Do as I say not as I do.
Here’s your evidence. There’s nothing stopping him from writing a big check to the IRS. He likes higher taxes? Set the example. If he doesn’t do that, then he’s s hypocrite.
What is your point? A rich person shouldn’t support taxes on the rich? If one is rich, then they should only be looking out for themselves? I really don’t get the moral argument here.
He’s not saying rich people shouldn’t exist. He’s for
more progressive taxation, including more taxes on his family. How is that hypocrisy?
He’s put much of his fortune, and that of his children, into trusts to avoid taxes. If he starts paying taxes on that money instead of putting it in trusts, then he would have a bit more credibility. Now he just sounds like Trump.
That is not what trusts do. Trusts are taxable generally at the same rate that would otherwise apply! Any income level can have a personal trust, and it’s beneficial for passing on inheritance BUT WITH TAXES! What it avoids is expensive probate costs.
David says, “What it avoids is expensive probate costs.” You moron, what do you think “probate costs” are? Taxes! When you die, if your estate is above the exclusion rate, what remains is taxed at anywhere from 18% to 40%. That’s money the heirs never see. That’s one reason why people have trusts, to avoid the estate tax, or “probate costs” as you put it. If it’s a “non-grantor trust,” the trust can distribute funds to beneficiaries that are taxed at a lower rate than what would ordinarily be paid by the grantor.
I think most people do what they can reasonably do to reduce their taxes or maximize their returns. I don’t hold that against the mega-rich like Khanna. But I do think twice when I see centi-millionaires who didn’t earn it, living a luxurious life, acting as class warriors. Luxury beliefs is a pretty apt label.
His wealth is irrelevant. I don’t know why you’ve chosen to mention it. It should be confidential.
If you look into one of Khanna’s ears you can see out the other ear.
Since few people know that Khanna is one of the country’s wealthiest politicians – in particular since he didn’t earn his wealth – this seems well worth reporting. You might think it’s fine; others might see hypocrisy or even deception. But don’t shoot the messenger for reporting something almost no one knows. That’s what the press is for.
@Proud Democrat
Was it ok for Zohran Mamdami to publish a hit list of wealth individuals who own expensive pieds a terre in New York City?
I think that there are different kinds of wealthy. It may be unpopular but I think wealth below 400 million is Way Way different that Elon Musk type wealth. It’s not at all a contradiction to talk about taxing billionaires. In this case the article says he is married to someone with wealth of $400 Million. Look at the difference between Jeff Bezos and his ex-wife. Likely Khanna’s wife had a prenup when she married him. People just don’t top and think.
Plenty of congress people are millionaires.
Plenty are worth over $10 Million.
Marjorie Taylor Greene after her divorce is worth $20 Million olus, by herself.
Markwayne Mullin is worth $80 Million or more.
The big difference between Khanna and Markwayne Mullin is that Khanna was handed his fortune by his father-in-law. Mullin’s father died and his plumbing business was failing. Markwayne Mullin turned that failing it into a money-maker. Nobody handed him anything.
Dave, you rightly point out how the local papers will not call out Khanna on his wealth, yet you naively believe an administration funded college newspaper might have exposed the bribes/fraud of its head administrator at the College of San Mateo. What were you thinking? Official college/university papers are no different. I remember there was a big story earlier this year about two Stanford medical researchers who published a peer-reviewed paper on the link between the “covid” vaccines and myocarditis, and surprise, surprise, the story received no coverage in the official Stanford Daily. I had to read about it in the independent (non-university funded) Stanford Review.
Alvin, what are you talking about? Crackpot conspiracy theories. And what does a student newspaper have to do with this? Talk about being off-topic!