Families Over Billionaires

Founding

Families Over Billionaires is an activist group formed on January 25, 2025 following the second election of President Donald Trump and the start of the second Trump administration. The group was created to act as a “centralized war room” to challenge potential tax policies promoted by the new administration, specifically potential tax cuts for high-income Americans and businesses. ^{3 2 4} According to the group, the administration has planned to increase taxes on low- and middle-income Americans, grant major tax benefits to the top five percent of income earners, and increase healthcare costs. ⁵

According to the organization’s opening press release, the campaign was started with “eight-figure” funding. ^{3 2}

The press release announcing the group’s creation included endorsements from U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY), former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), former director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Shalanda Young, and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) president April Verrett. ²

Policy Advocacy

On February 3, 2025, Families Over Billionaires released a statement condemning the Trump administration and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) public-advocacy head Elon Musk for freezing expenditures and cutting the budget of USAID. In a press release, Families Over Billionaires director Michael Linden claimed that “Elon Musk is recklessly and illegally slashing funding to cover up for the trillions of dollars in tax handouts he wants for himself and his fellow billionaires.” ⁶

Also in February 2025, Families Over Billionaires announced it was starting a campaign to serve as a “centralized war room” to counter efforts by President Trump and Republican members of Congress to extend 2017 tax cuts that will expire at the end of the year. The statement further read, “Hardworking Americans are tired of billionaires and corporations getting massive tax cuts at the expense of everyone else.” ⁷

Families Over Billionaires reportedly was one of several activist groups which demonstrated in the May Day protests, a series of nationwide protests on May 1, 2025 against President Donald Trump as well as Tesla CEO Elon Musk for his connections to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). According to reporting and records from the New York Post, multiple organizations that took part in the protests had previously received funding from left-of-center organizations including $293.6 million from organizations tied to Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, $47 million from nonprofits and groups connected to the Arabella Advisors network, and $194.2 million from George Soros’ Open Society Foundations (OSF). According to The Post, Families Over Billionaires had previously received over $278 million from Wyss-connected organizations. ⁸

In June 2025, Families Over Billionaires participated in organizing or supporting protests branded under the “#NoKings” banner, a national day of demonstrations positioned as a defense of democratic norms against Donald Trump. These events were part of a larger mobilization involving over 70 Democratic Party affiliates and allied organizations across at least 19 U.S. states and multiple international locations, according to publicly available event listings on Mobilize.us, a Democratic Party-aligned organizing platform. ^{9 10}

Leadership

Michael Linden is the director of Families Over Billionaires and the only member of the organization mentioned in its opening press release. Linden was listed as a senior policy fellow at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth since July 2023, and previously worked at the Biden administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Prior to this, Linden worked as the executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative; a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute; a policy and research managing director at The Hub Project; a senior advisor to the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; a senior advisor to the U.S. Senate Budget Committee; and in several roles at the Center for American Progress (CAP). ^{2 11}

As of March 2025, other staffers listed include Katherine Vibbert as its digital director as well as Ben Schwartz as a special assistant for the organization. ¹² Prior to Families over Billionaires, Vibbert worked as the digital rapid response director for Kamala Harris‘ 2024 presidential campaign, a senior political strategist for The New Media Firm, and the digital electoral campaigns manager for Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). ¹³ Before working with the organization, Schwartz worked in several positions with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) including a confidential assistant and a special assistant, as well as an advance associate with the White House during the Biden Administration. ¹⁴

Partners

According to its opening press release on January 30, 2025, Families Over Billionaires listed the following organizations as partners in launching the organization: Americans for Tax Fairness, Caring Across Generations, the Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAP Action), Community Catalyst, the Economic Security Project, Fair Share America, the First Focus Campaign for Children, the Groundwork Collaborative, Indivisible, MomsRising, the National Education Association (NEA), the National Women’s Law Center, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and Unrig Our Economy. ²

As of March 2025, the website for Families Over Billionaires lists its partners as including Americans for Tax Fairness, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Caring Across Generations, Economic Security Project Action, Fair Share America, Indivisible, MomsRising, the NEA, the National Women’s Law Center, the SEIU, and Unrig Our Economy. ^{15 12}

On the Families Over Billionaires’ website, the “Resources” page links to articles on tax policies by Americans for Tax Fairness, Accountable.US, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, and the Center for American Progress. ¹⁶ As of March 2025, there is no donation button on the organization’s website. ¹⁷