Taxpayer subsidies awarded to corporations by state and local governments, supposedly to create good jobs and growth, are instead fueling economic inequality by going to companies that are owned in whole or part by billionaires, and to low-wage employers. 

About one-third of the individuals in the Forbes 400 are linked to highly subsidized companies. Subsidies have also gone to 87 companies that pay low wages. More than $21 billion in taxpayer dollars have been awarded to these two sets of firms. 

These are the major findings of Tax Breaks and Inequality, a report published today by Good Jobs First, a non-profit research group based in Washington, DC. The report, funded by the Nathan Cummings Foundation, is available at www.goodjobsfirst.org. 

"Inequality has many causes, and now we can say development subsidies are among them," said Good Jobs First Executive Director Greg LeRoy. 

Tax Breaks and Inequality is a "mash-up" of Good Jobs First's Subsidy Tracker database with two lists of companies: firms linked to members of the Forbes 400 and major low-wage employers.  

"This year, Forbes highlights those said to have built fortunes entirely on their own, yet our research shows that many of the billionaires got assistance from taxpayers," said Philip Mattera, Good Jobs First Research Director and lead author of the report. 

The members of the Forbes 400 control or are otherwise closely linked to 99 large corporations that have been awarded more than $19 billion in cumulative subsidies. Five of these have been awarded more than $1 billion in subsidies, including Intel ($5.9 billion), Nike ($2 billion), Cerner ($1.7 billion), Tesla Motors ($1.3 billion) and Berkshire Hathaway ($1.2 billion). The average subsidy total for the group, which is limited to those receiving $1 million or more, is $196 million. 

The report also looks at subsidies going to low-wage employers. Eighty-seven such companies have each been awarded more than $1 million in subsidies, for a total of more than $3 billion. These include: Sears ($536 million), Amazon.com ($419 million), Cabela's ($247 million), Convergys ($202 million), Starwood ($166 million) and Wal-Mart Stores ($161 million).  

Eight companies are both linked to members of the Forbes 400 and pay low wages: Sears, Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Bass Pro, Meijer, Menard, and Allegis Group.