"Those people" are usually folks with a onetime windfall. For example a startup employee with options not stock. And I don't see what bearing that has on the top rate.
Most people who's earnings are over $1mm a year are spending significant time & resources planning their tax strategy and are not paying 50% effective tax rates.
Stop coddling the rich? The top 20% of earners in the U.S pay a total of 87% of all tax revenue for the government, and their return from that in terms of value of government services relative to taxes paid is much smaller than it is for those in lower brackets. There are many wealthy people who use numerous legal (and in some cases illegal) means to avoid "their fair share" but overall, the numbers show that they pay far more than what most people would call fair in any other context.
Source: Trump's tax returns.
Actual source: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the...