Eduardo Saverin Renounces US Citizenship

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duardo Saverin, the Brazilian-born Harvard kid who teamed up with mark Zuckerberg at the inception of Facebook and acted as the site’s business manager—until his stock was diluted and he sued his former partner—is renouncing his U.S. citizenship.

Saverin has been living in Singapore for the last four years, but the decision to become an ex-citizen of the U.S.A. is essentially a tax dodge. If Saverin remained a U.S. citizen he would have to pay capital gains tax on the estimated $4 billion he stands to make as a result of Facebook’s recent IPO.

Not surprisingly, Saverin’s move is drawing criticism from many, although some conservatives and libertarians see this as evidence that tax rates in the U.S are too high.

However, with a $4 billion dollar windfall, it’s hard to imagine that anything other than greed is behind the move. Even if Saverin were to pay 99% of his $4 billion in taxes, he’d still have $40 million left over.

Yes, it’s his money and yes, he earned it, but turning his back on the country that facilitated his success just so he can hold on to $4 billion as opposed to $3.6 billion, seems the height of selfishness.