California Would possibly Tax Billionaires. Cue the Inevitable Tech Billionaire Tantrum

Taking cash away from billionaires is humorous, and threatening to do it may be a pleasant political sugar rush for anybody with even a tiny quantity of sophistication consciousness (despite the fact that it will not get near creating “socialism” in America in response to socialists like Doug Henwood). The state of California is now very a lot threatening to do it, and the predictable result’s taking place according to the New York Times: tech billionaires like Peter Thiel and ex-Google CEO and co-founder Larry Web page are having their compulsory tantrum and threatening to depart.

The political instrument concerned right here is just not a technocratic and nuanced change to the tax code that occurs to tax billionaires, however as an alternative a one-off, 5% billionaire tax. This comes within the type of a proposed poll measure backed by organized labor—particularly the Service Workers Worldwide Union–United Healthcare Employees West.

Anybody who lives in California as of January 1, 2026 could be topic to the proposed tax, and the mathematics works like this: In case you have $20 billion in belongings, you owe $1 billion, and have 5 years to pay up. Estimates from the union say the state would pull in about $100 billion, principally by legally mugging the 200 most obnoxious individuals within the state.

If you happen to’ve adopted the similar drama in New York City through the rise of Zohran Mamdani, you already know this subsequent half by coronary heart. In keeping with the Instances, Peter Thiel is now weighing an out-of-state workplace for Thiel Capital, and determining tips on how to spend much less time in California. Larry Web page, listed by Forbes as the second richest person in the world as of this writing, has begun shifting three LLCs to Florida, the Instances says.

David Lesperance, a tax advisor for billionaires, informed the Instances, “virtually all of my shoppers are taking steps as rapidly as potential each to sever California residence and to maneuver belongings exterior of the state.” 

Billionaire tech and healthcare investor Chamath Palihapitiya additionally performed the hits, with the next X submit quoted by the Instances: “The inevitable end result can be an exodus of the state’s most proficient entrepreneurs who can and can select to construct their corporations in much less regressive states.” The submit the Instances is quoting right here doesn’t appear to exist anymore, maybe due to Palihapitiya’s weird, Reverse Day use of the time period “regressive.”

Palihapitiya’s X exercise exhibits that he’s been on a tear with this subject for days, nonetheless:

This idiotic assault, by a clumsy California politician, on a productive California resident triggered him to depart. It shouldn’t be misplaced on anybody that this has already value California $10’s of billions in misplaced taxes from Elon and the plethora of properly paid staff that adopted… pic.twitter.com/2aADLB4WWH

— Chamath Palihapitiya (@chamath) December 25, 2025

However do the American wealthy really flee a state that has determined to tax them? Possibly, nevertheless it doesn’t look like it thus far. The state of Massachusetts handed one thing somewhat totally different: a extra widespread earnings surtax for individuals making greater than $1 million, and after two years, more tax-eligible millionaires are reportedly in the state, not less.

So sure, Billionaires, we all know that if this finally ends up on the poll and truly will get voted into legislation, most of you’ll characterize Californians with much less cash than you as ungrateful and naive youngsters, and a few of you’ll even make good in your menace to depart. The query could be this: will a enjoyable state with nice climate that additionally occurs to fabricate new billionaires on a regular basis really remorse making you cough up a few of your cash in the long term? Who is aware of, however I kinda doubt it.