Press Release
For Immediate Release – February 19, 2001
Contact: Betsy Leondar-Wright
(617) 423-2148 x13

Over 300 More Wealthy People Sign On To Preserve Estate Tax

Responding to a February 14 New York Times article about wealthy people opposed to estate tax repeal, led by William H. Gates, Sr, over 300 wealthy people have signed on to Responsible Wealth’s "Call to Preserve the Estate Tax," bringing the total to over 420 signers.

New signers include Paul Newman; Norman Lear; Julian Robertson, Jr. founder of the Tiger Fund; former Senator Frank Lautenberg; Terrance and Judith Paul, founders of Renaissance Learning, Inc.; and Frank Greenberg, retired Chairman and CEO of Burlington Industries.

The statement has been covered on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, NPR, the Washington Post, the LA Times, the Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg, and hundreds of other media outlets.
Conference call: Responsible Wealth will host an opportunity for journalists to interview Bill Gates, Sr., Bill Joy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems; Chuck Collins of United for a Fair Economy, and other critics of estate tax repeal on Tuesday, February 20 at 1 p.m. EST.

Some signers of the statement are also available for one-on-one interviews, including

• Arnold Hiatt, retired CEO of StrideRite,
• James K. Galbraith, University of Texas economist, son of John Kenneth Galbraith,
• Richard Lyman, philanthropist and president emeritus of Stanford University,
• small business owners Barry Hermanson, Judy Wicks, Martin Rothenberg, & others.

Responsible Wealth is a national network of businesspeople, investors and affluent Americans concerned about deepening economic inequality and advocating widespread prosperity. For more information, visit www.responsiblewealth.org.