Billionaires defy Elizabeth Wear's plan to solve America's inequality problem
But few thought Trump, backed by a Republican Congress, would actually adopt an anti-business agenda beyond trade policy (and some probably didn't think he really wanted to start a trade war, either.)
Warren, on the other hand, is seen as a potential game changer.
"You suddenly have people who never thought they had to play defense of capitalism get out of the woodwork because they perceive a threat to the system," said Ian Winer, a former hedge fund manager who is now an advisory board member of investment bank Drexel Hamilton .
The billionaire's setback stems from concern over the scale of Wear's efforts to recreate the US economy by raising taxes on the ultra-wealthy.
The top 1% control $ 34.7 trillion
Her aggressive reforms are aimed at fixing America's very real inequality problem. Warren's campaign, along with that of Bernie Sanders, builds on the idea that the profits disproportionately go to the rich. And that many households do not have access to the same opportunities to achieve the American dream.
Gains have been more subdued for the rest of the country. The bottom 50% of families control only $ 2.08 trillion today, up a more modest 174% from 1989.
Figures that give it the feeling that the American dream is not alive and well.
Daly said that the "strong economy" over the last decade has managed to close some of the gaps that exist between rich and poor, but only "a little." She added, "The gaps are still large."
Limited access to education will slow down the economy
Not long ago, the middle class controlled much more of America's wealth than the super-rich. In 1989, the middle class had $ 7.1 trillion, compared to $ 4.7 trillion for the top 1%, according to the Fed.
Today, the middle class has $ 30.73 trillion in assets, while the top 1% share has ballooned to $ 34.7 trillion.
Daly argued that the inequality problems are the result of "structural" barriers in the system, including access to education, which cannot be printed even by a strong economy.
"What scares me on that front is we don't have enough access to things that let people be their best," Daly said. "And that means we're going to limit our growth potential."
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a Yale School of Management professor, nevertheless warned that Warren should avoid scapegoating the rich.
"Americans do not have the wrath of great wealth as long as it was not achieved through cheating and stealing," Sonnenfeld said.
Ray Dalio warns the system is "broken"
For his part, Warren pointed out that the backlash from billionaires is proof that the system must be fixed.
Some billionaires are well aware of problems in the current system.
Cooperman has said that he believes in a progressive income tax and that the rich should pay more.
That's why Dalio said the world is "approaching" a major paradigm shift. "
Dalio did not define what that shift would look like, so Warren and Cooperman could fix it.
