Do Billionaires Still Collect Social Security? The Answer Might Surprise You

Key Points

• Just about anyone who earns even a modest amount qualifies for Social Security.

• This means that some -- but not all -- billionaires will qualify for benefits.

• However, many billionaires have the wrong kind of income for Social Security.

• The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook ›

Billionaires. Love them or hate them, apparently about 60% of us want to become one, according to the Harris poll last year. Meanwhile, about 6 in 10 of us think that billionaires are good for the economy and for society.

Plenty of people are not thrilled with billionaires, though, thinking that they could do more for their countries and communities, perhaps by paying more taxes. These folks might not want to read any more of this article, because I'm going to answer this question: Do billionaires collect Social Security?

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Do billionaires collect Social Security?

Here's the answer: Yes. Yes, billionaires collect Social Security. There's a little more to this answer, though, so read on.

If billionaires paid taxes into the Social Security system, they're likely eligible to collect Social Security benefits in retirement. If you don't like the sound of that, imagine that a retired billionaire somehow ends up losing all their money, due to bad luck or bad decisions. It might not seem so bad if they get to collect benefits, right?

Why do billionaires collect Social Security, and how much do they get?

To be eligible for benefits, one needs to earn a total of 40 credits, one of which can be earned each calendar quarter. The value of each credit is updated annually, and for 2025, it's $1,810 in earnings. So for most workers, it's fairly easy to qualify over a decade of working. In 2025, for example, four credits would amount to only $7,240 in earnings.

So if a billionaire worked enough to qualify, then beginning at age 62, they would probably be able to start collecting benefits. (Each of us can claim our benefits as early as age 62 or as late as age 70, with the size of the checks increasing the longer we wait before claiming. That said, most of us would be better off waiting until age 70, if possible.)

How much would a billionaire collect? Well, the formula for determining benefits incorporates your earnings in the 35 years in which you earned the most (adjusting them for inflation, of course). The recent average monthly benefit check, as of May, was $2,002 -- or $24,000 for the year. But the maximum possible benefit for 2025 is quite a bit higher at $5,108 per month, or about $61,300 annually. If you are or have been a billionaire, that $61,300 for the year isn't going to get you very far. It might just buy new towels for your yacht.

So how much a billionaire collects would all depend on their earnings. Some billionaires start out as ordinary earners, perhaps building an empire later in life, or they may only earn wages for a decade or so, and not 35 years. In such cases, they would not qualify for that maximum benefit. It's actually very hard to qualify for the maximum.

Some billionaires will not collect any Social Security

Additionally, some billionaires will not collect Social Security -- if they have not worked a job where their earnings were taxed for Social Security, as most of us have done. For example, they may have simply inherited their wealth and not worked for wages. They may hold all their wealth in stocks and/or real estate -- in which case, dividend income or capital gains from selling properties would not count for Social Security.

Tweaking Social Security

Some have suggested that the Social Security system be changed, to feature a means test. That could identify wealthy folks to exclude them from collecting benefits.

Here's another powerful proposal: Raising or eliminating the earnings cap. For 2025, that cap is $176,100, and it means that we are all taxed for Social Security on the first $176,100 we earn. If we only earn $100,000, all that is taxed for Social Security. If we earn $1,176,100, a full million dollars of our earnings goes untaxed. Changing this system could deliver a lot of needed money into Social Security's coffers, which are running dry. There are other proposed fixes for Social Security, too, but recent changes from the Trump administration could weaken the program over the long run.

How about you, and your benefits?

Enough about billionaires. What should matter most to you is how much you can expect from Social Security. To get an estimate of your future Social Security benefits, based on your earnings history, set up a my Social Security account at the Social Security Administration (SSA) website.

And don't plan to rely on Social Security or mainly on Social Security in retirement. Develop a solid retirement plan, perhaps starting by figuring out how much you'll need in retirement and how you'll get it.

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