Inequality is more than a moral issue. It’s also a structural one and the consequences frequently show up in our markets, workforce and democracy. On this episode of C-Suite Success, I sat down with someone who doesn’t just talk about impact; she lives it every day. Erica Payne is a nationally recognized communications strategist, public policy expert, author, and media commentator whose work has shaped some of the most consequential conversations at the intersection of business, economics, and democracy.
She is the Founder and President of Patriotic Millionaires, a group of wealthy Americans challenging the destabilizing concentration of wealth and power in the United States, and the former Founder and President of The Agenda Project, a groundbreaking public policy advocacy organization designed to transform the national dialogue.
From the moment Erica began speaking, it was clear this would be a conversation about success — not as a title or a balance sheet — but as something far deeper.
Erica shared a lesson that has stayed with her since college, when a philosophy professor explained that while no one can tell you the meaning of life, you do know whether you are “on the beam or off the beam.” Like a gymnast, you can feel when your footing is solid and when it’s not. When you’re on the proverbial beam — aligned internally — you can take bigger risks, attempt higher flips, and move forward with confidence. That metaphor resonated deeply, because true leadership begins with that internal alignment. Without it, even the most impressive external success can feel hollow.
For Erica, finding solid ground came from founding Patriotic Millionaires in 2010. What began as a protest against the extension of the Bush-era tax cuts for millionaires quickly became something far larger. Fifty-six high-net-worth individuals signed a letter calling on President Obama to raise their taxes for the good of the country. As Erica put it, this wasn’t altruism. It was being “greedy for a different kind of country.”
That moment crystallized something powerful. Erica had spent time in Democratic politics, earned an MBA from Wharton, and worked in high-level corporate environments — from Goldman Sachs to private aviation. Yet despite all the outward markers of success, she found herself deeply unhappy. As she shared candidly, whatever success she had externally, she couldn’t feel internally. That realization forced a reckoning — one many executives quietly experience but rarely name.
Drawing inspiration from Good to Great, Erica asked herself three defining questions: What am I deeply passionate about? What can I be great at? And what can drive an economic engine? The life she has built since then allows her to argue for values she believes matter, engage intellectually with big ideas about humanity and systems, and do work she believes genuinely helps others. That, she made clear, is what success feels like (or how it should feel like).
One of the most compelling parts of our conversation was Erica’s ability to bridge worlds that often feel separate: business, politics, and nonprofit advocacy. She explained that these arenas all operate on value chains, just like any company. The difference is that in public policy, the “raw materials” come from academia, philosophy, and economics, which are then packaged, messaged, and delivered to the public. Competitive advantage, she reminded us, comes not just from the strength of each link, but from how well those links connect.
Her critique of the current economic system was both stark and unflinching. We are living, she said, in a kind of “economic Jenga” — pulling resources from the bottom and middle, stacking them at the top, and acting surprised as the entire structure becomes unstable. This isn’t ideological; it’s mathematical. Just as a business fails without sound financials, a country fails without an economic structure that works for the many, not just the few.
What struck me most was Erica’s clarity in the face of constant resistance. After 16 years in this work, she has seen things she “can’t unsee.” She no longer gets distracted by partisan noise because her focus is on the mission, not politics. Patriotic Millionaires isn’t about electing candidates; it’s about building a sustainable, stable, and free economic structure where wealthy people, middle-class families, and working people can all thrive. In her words, there is no human being on Earth worth $500 billion — and allowing that level of concentration is bad for everyone, including the wealthy.
Erica embraces the word disruption, unapologetically. She sees it as necessary. Patriotic Millionaires itself is a standing disruption — a group of successful investors and business leaders openly declaring that the system that enriched them will not work long-term. That willingness to “say the thing no one else will say” defines her leadership and the legacy she is building.
She didn’t sugarcoat the path, either. Being a disruptor, she warned, is hard. Entrepreneurship — especially social change entrepreneurship — is not for the faint of heart. If you’re not deeply passionate, find something else to do. But if you’re obsessed, accept the reality: you will be frustrated, annoyed, and exhausted at times. Real innovation, she said, is like driving through a snowstorm, clearing a path, moving forward, and watching it fill back in again. Over and over.
Yet even amid that grind, Erica finds energy in learning. Right now, she’s excited about something highly specific and deeply telling: figuring out how to restructure corporate tax policy so higher wages can pass with a simple majority vote. It’s a reminder that real leaders never stop learning, never stop refining their approach, and never stop asking how systems can work better for more people.
This conversation with Erica Payne was a powerful reminder that between values and actions, purpose and performance. When you’re on the beam, you feel it. And when you lead from that place, you don’t just build organizations you change outcomes, challenge systems, and leave a legacy that matters.
Watch the entire conversation on C-Suite TV or listen to the podcast on C-Suite Radio.
