Under the plan, California would impose a one-time tax on residents with net worth over $1 billion, targeting “wealth” rather than income. That includes unrealized gains, which means stock ownership, private company equity and illiquid assets that exist on paper. Wealth isn\u2019t always in checking accounts. Supporters call it fairness, but it\u2019s a tax on success<\/a> before success is ever realized.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the part most politicians ignore. Billionaires don\u2019t necessarily sit on piles of cash. Their wealth is overwhelmingly tied up in businesses, real estate\u00a0stock holdings and their private companies. When the government demands a massive check based on paper valuations, the only way to pay it is to sell assets.<\/p>\n EXTREME SPORTS STAR LASHES OUT AT NEWSOM FOR KILLING THE CALIFORNIA DREAM: \u2018WHAT HAPPENED?\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Elon Musk announced the launch of his third “America Party” via X on Saturday. (Francis Chung\/Politico\/Bloomberg via Getty Images)<\/p>\n And that\u2019s where the real damage begins for the people who rely on these billionaires to provide jobs for them to become millionaires.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you force someone to sell public stock, the markets can absorb it. But when you force the sale of\u00a0private company stock<\/a>, you\u2019re often forcing a founder to sell part of their business or all of it earlier than planned. That can mean selling to private equity, taking on leverage, cutting costs or laying off workers to generate liquidity.\u00a0<\/p>\n In other words, a tax aimed at “the rich” doesn\u2019t just hit balance sheets. It hits payrolls.<\/p>\n WASHINGTON POST CITES U-HAUL DATA IN CALIFORNIA EXODUS TO ‘PRO-GROWTH’ STATES, SAYS ‘DECLINE IS A CHOICE’<\/a><\/p>\n Capitalism works because it incentivizes innovation and growth. It rewards people for building companies, hiring workers and reinvesting profits. When you start taxing wealth simply for existing rather than income, profits or transactions, you flip that incentive structure upside down. The message becomes clear to entrepreneurs. If you build too much and succeed too much, the government will punish you and possibly dismantle prematurely what you built.\u00a0<\/p>\n We\u2019ve already seen how this movie ends for other Californians.\u00a0<\/p>\n Take\u00a0billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk<\/a>, who moved Tesla\u2019s headquarters from California to Texas. Musk didn\u2019t leave because he dislikes sunshine or beaches. He left because regulatory overreach, rising taxes and a growing hostility toward business innovation made it harder to build and scale companies. When the world\u2019s most influential entrepreneur and job creator votes with his feet, policymakers should listen.<\/p>\n CALIFORNIA IS BROKE, BUT IT\u2019S NOT TOO LATE FOR THE REST OF US<\/a><\/p>\n He wasn\u2019t alone.\u00a0Host Joe Rogan\u00a0moved his podcast<\/a> empire out of Los Angeles, citing taxes, governance and quality-of-life concerns.\u00a0Larry Ellison\u00a0relocated Oracle\u2019s headquarters out of California. Just look at Sergey Brin and Larry Page and their recent moves to sever ties with California. Even liberal Hollywood elites quietly establish residency in Nevada, Texas or Florida, while keeping second homes in Malibu.\u00a0<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t coincidence.\u00a0It\u2019s cause and effect.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you force someone to sell public stock, the markets can absorb it. But when you force the sale of\u00a0private company stock, you\u2019re often forcing a founder to sell part of their business or all of it earlier than planned.\u00a0<\/p>\n Entrepreneurs don\u2019t just create wealth for themselves. They create jobs, supply chains, tax revenue and philanthropy. When government policies force founders to sell companies prematurely just to pay a wealth tax, it\u2019s workers who pay the price long before billionaires do.\u00a0<\/p>\n The danger doesn\u2019t stop at California\u2019s borders. Other blue states<\/a> are watching closely. If California can tax unrealized wealth, what\u2019s stopping New York, Illinois or Massachusetts from doing the same? Today, it\u2019s billionaires. Tomorrow, its founders worth $100 million. Next, it\u2019s family business owners who spent decades building companies only to be taxed on paper valuations they haven\u2019t monetized.<\/p>\n CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION<\/a><\/p>\n Supporters argue the tax would only affect a few hundred people. That misses the point. Policies aren\u2019t judged by how many people they hit. They are judged by the incentives they create.\u00a0<\/p>\n Capitalism depends on a promise that if you take risks, build something meaningful and create value for others, you can be rewarded with the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n California once understood that better than almost anywhere else in the world. This billionaire tax suggests the state is forgetting what made it a real Golden State. Since COVID-19, you\u2019ve seen a massive shift of both individuals and businesses, showing that the Golden State may\u00a0not be so golden anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n The lesson is simple. Money always chases something. When success is treated like a liability, money leaves. And when capitalism is undermined<\/a>, everyone pays the price and not just the billionaires.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Elon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/elon-musk-doge-hat.jpg\")
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