On February 7th, 2026, a small group of free-market activists met in Alta Plaza park in San Francisco for the "March for Billionaires," a rally/protest in favor of the upper class and against a proposed wealth tax. This sentiment drew a strange cocktail of jeering counterprotesters, a press pool that outweighed the pro-billionaire activists by numbers, and the occasional sympathetic passerby. I covered the event for Bay Area Current, a socialist magazine covering working class issues.
While it probably goes without saying that I am personally skeptical of such a sentiment, I will admit I had a wonderful time at the March for Billionaires. Part public meetup for a chronically online group of rationalists, part jubilant art project lampooning the rich, part journalists mixer, the entire march had the lively chaotic energy of a parade, with slogans and counterslogans shouted while journlists tried to take interviews on the move. The activists took themselves entirely seriously, which only made the scene more humorous.
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Bay Area Current
2026
Derik Kauffman, lead organizer of the March for Billionaires, in Alta Vista park. San Francisco, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026.
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Bay Area Current
2026
Annie (center, wearing “I’m in a polycule with Aella” shirt), who claimed that the original idea for the march was hers, holding a sign in support for Jeff Bezos. San Francisco, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026.
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Bay Area Current
2026
An attendee holds a sign in favor of the “March For Billionaires” in San Francisco, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026.
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Bay Area Current
2026
Attendees of the “March For Billionaires” stand with their signs in Alta Vista park in San Francisco, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026.
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Bay Area Current
2026
An attendee of the “March For Billionaires” stands with their sign in Alta Vista park in San Francisco, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026.
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Bay Area Current
2026
Derik Kauffman, organizer of the March for Billionaires, leads the march from Alta Vista park to City Hall. San Francisco, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026.
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Bay Area Current
2026
A counter-protester of the March for Billionaires poses with their giant puppet “Chef Bourgeoisie.” San Francisco, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026.
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Bay Area Current
2026
Paul, a former Uber Economist, attended the March for Billionaires after hearing about it via his East Bay “Rationalist” community. San Francisco, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026.
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Bay Area Current
2026
Paul (center, holding “I bought this sign on prime overnight” sign) speaks at city hall in favor of the March for Billionaires. San Francisco, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026.
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Bay Area Current
2026
An attendee speaks at City Hall in support of the message of the March for Billionaires. San Francisco, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026.
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Bay Area Current
2026
Derik Kauffman (blue shirt, left) speaks in support of the message of the March for Billionaires, surrounded by valid attendees and protesters alike. San Francisco, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026.
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Bay Area Current
2026
Derik Kauffman (blue shirt, left-bottom) speaks in support of the message of the March for Billionaires, surrounded by valid attendees and protesters alike. San Francisco, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026.
Caption: What results is a collection of mundane moments from decidedly non-mundane individuals—a mixture of quiet, strange, and chaotic instances that mirror the organization that bore them. What stood out to me was the depth of history contained within the order—from early sex education pamphlets the sisters distributed in the Castro district, to hearing the sisters' perspective on the struggles queer people face in modern times, I got the sense that whatever we were experiencing now, the sisters had experienced it in some form before.
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