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The question is about leaders who reduced the privileges of the rich in order to help the poor. Until now, I've found two examples:

  • Umar II (682 – 720), an Umayyad caliph, was greatly helping the poor by cutting their taxes and the rich people killed him because they could not digest his policies of justice, simplicity and equality.
  • Johann Sachs von Harteneck (1664 – 1703), mayor of the German city Hermannstadt (today's Sibiu, Transylvania) was killed because he was asking the rich to pay taxes.

I am looking for more examples of such leaders who were killed or removed from power for reducing the privileges of the rich - or for reducing the taxes of the poor.

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  • There is disagreement that Omar had been killed by poison, Many sources mentioned that he died of tuberculosis. – Mr.lock Feb 22 '17 at 7:01
  • In case of Umar II, it was the royal dynasty who allegedly poisoned him. But then again, most rich people were members of the Royal house to begin with – NSNoob Feb 22 '17 at 8:51
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    Anyways, this is a list question and too broad. It would help if you were to specify a time period and a region. – NSNoob Feb 22 '17 at 9:00
  • Note that "reducing the privileges of the rich" does not mean that the ruler cared for the poor. For most of the history, there has been struggles between rulers and subjects, and unsurprisingly the most powerful subjects (i.e. the nobles) have been proven to be the most dangerous to the rulers ambitions and even lives. – SJuan76 Feb 22 '17 at 10:25
  • Gustav III of Sweden perhaps as one of the reason was that he reduced the power of the nobles. – liftarn Feb 22 '17 at 12:15
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A list question par excellence but I'll allow myself to be tempted nevertheless...

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  • Didn't the Gracchi try land reform, rather than Robin-Hood tax policies? – Ne Mo Feb 22 '17 at 13:18
  • @NeMo Same thing in practice: "Using the powers of Lex Hortensia, Tiberius established a commission to oversee the redistribution of land holdings from the rich to the unlanded urban poor. " – Felix Goldberg Feb 22 '17 at 13:21
  • @NeMo There were other elements to their programme too (cf. the introduction of tax farming to Asia province, to get the equaestrians on their side) but the basic ideas was "Robin-Hood" all right. – Felix Goldberg Feb 22 '17 at 13:22

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