{"id":105503,"date":"2025-12-22T23:08:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T23:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/105503\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T23:08:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T23:08:09","slug":"exclusive-california-billionaires-plan-exodus-if-state-wealth-tax-passes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/105503\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive | California billionaires plan exodus if state wealth tax passes"},"content":{"rendered":"

California could be saying bye-bye to billions in tax revenue if voters approve a controversial wealth tax <\/a>on the state\u2019s roughly 200 billionaires.<\/p>\n

Ultra-wealthy taxpayers are actively making plans to ditch the state ahead of the new year, as Californians prepare to vote next November on a one-time 5% tax on billionaires\u2019 net worth that could slap titans like Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg<\/a> and president of Nvidia Jensen Huang with tax bills running in the billions, multiple sources exclusively told The Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cElon Musk, Tim Cook \u2014 any of these guys, they don\u2019t need to be in Palo Alto in order to do what they do,\u201d said David Lesperance, a tax advisor who works with California billionaires in venture capital and private equity.<\/p>\n

Spouses Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg attend the 2025 Breakthrough Prize Ceremony in Santa Monica. FilmMagic<\/p>\n

Lesperance said his clients are hatching contingency plans to protect their assets ahead of a likely November 2026 vote on the wealth tax \u2014 and some will ditch the Golden State entirely. <\/p>\n

Another source with knowledge of the situation confirmed that billionaires have been taking steps to change their residences and move out of state, which can include registering to vote in other states, making DMV appointments and even scheduling doctor appointments.<\/p>\n

If passed, the measure would affect anyone who was a California resident at the start of 2026.<\/p>\n

Supporters estimate the tax will raise up to $100 billion in revenue over five years. But the loss of even a single billionaire like Zuckerberg, Huang or Google co-founder Larry Page<\/a> could translate into an 11-figure hit to the state\u2019s tax coffers.<\/p>\n

Five percent of Page\u2019s estimated net worth is roughly $12 billion, whereas Zuckerberg and Huang could be on the hook <\/a>for some $12 billion and $8 billion, respectively. <\/p>\n

The SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West labor union \u2014 the main force behind the tax measure dubbed the 2026\u00a0Billionaire Tax Act<\/a> \u2014 says proceeds would be used to replenish health care funds lost to federal funding cuts and support public schools.<\/p>\n

The measure needs to garner around 870,000 signatures by next spring to qualify for the ballot. Health care workers and field representatives could begin collecting signatures in January and February, according to a union spokesperson.<\/p>\n

Bill Gates chats with Ron Conway at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on July 9, 2015. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Gov. Gavin Newsom<\/a> is on record opposing the tax, though the SEIU believes he will eventually change his mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe governor has consistently opposed state-level wealth taxes \u2014 recognizing that if implemented at a state-only level, they drive a race to the bottom,\u201d Izzy Gardon, Newsom\u2019s spokesperson, told The Post.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, a committee opposing the tax, Stop the Squeeze, has already received $100,000 from billionaire venture capitalist Ron Conway.<\/p>\n

In another possible effort to counter the billionaire tax, attorney Kurt Oneto filed paperwork this month with the attorney general\u2019s office to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot next year that would clarify the rules around California residency.<\/p>\n

Garry Tan, CEO of NorCal tech startup Y Combinator, said the tax would see billionaires to flee the state \u201cen masse.\u201d Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear who is behind this push and Oneto did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a source said it is almost certainly some of the same wealthy Californians who are currently taking steps to flee the state.<\/p>\n

Garry Tan<\/a>, CEO of San Francisco-based tech startup accelerator Y Combinator, said the proposed billionaire tax would encourage companies and entrepreneurs to flee California \u201cen masse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lucinda Southworth and CEO of Alphabet Larry Page in 2016. FilmMagic<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile this tax wouldn\u2019t impact me personally, I oppose it because California should be focused on keeping entrepreneurs and investors here \u2014 creating jobs, growing the economy, and funding our future,\u201d Tan wrote in a text message to The Post. \u201cDriving capital out of the state will hurt innovation and ultimately make it harder, not easier, to support healthcare and essential services.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tan added, \u201cThis measure would cause a stampede of unicorns out of California to other states, which would reap the benefits of entrepreneurs, technology and jobs that California enjoys now.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Lesperance said he tells his billionaire clients to think of the US as a \u201cpolitical wildfire zone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey will be long gone before the fire starts licking at their front door,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Texas, Florida and Nevada are some of the most popular spots for ultra-high earners trying to lower their bills, according to Lesperance. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"California could be saying bye-bye to billions in tax revenue if voters approve a controversial wealth tax on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":105504,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[14711,9329,7,9,8,1611,657,457,14624,10649,57041,21163,3412,10651,195,13,1694,57042,5476,3586,9560],"class_list":["post-105503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-billion","tag-billionaires","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-elon-musk","tag-exclusive","tag-gavin-newsom","tag-google","tag-jensen-huang","tag-larry-page","tag-mark-zuckerberg","tag-meta","tag-nvidia","tag-palo-alto","tag-politics","tag-taxes","tag-tim-cook","tag-unions","tag-us-news","tag-wealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105503\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}