via TechCrunch
Google Co-founder Sergey Brin Surpasses $100 Million in Spending to Battle California's Billionaire Tax
Google co-founder Sergey Brin has poured another $20 million into Build a Better California, an organization advocating against the state's proposed billionaire tax, according to a recent filing. This brings the world's fourth-richest person—whose net worth hovers around $267 billion—to over $100 million in total spending to avoid an estimated $13.3 billion tax bill.
California's Prop 40, also known as the billionaire tax, would impose a one-time 5% levy on the net worth of roughly 200 state-resident billionaires. The revenue would largely fund California's healthcare programs, which face significant strain: the state's Medicaid program alone could lose up to $30 billion in federal funding once Trump-era budget cuts take effect next year.
Brin is not alone among tech moguls seeking to sidestep the tax. It's no coincidence that Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg reportedly acquired a $170 million mansion near Miami earlier this year. Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, venture capitalist Peter Thiel, and Brin's fellow Google co-founder Larry Page have all left California in recent years.
Prop 40 has also sparked opposition from Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA), who worries about the economic fallout of billionaires and their businesses fleeing the state. Instead, Newsom has called for a "national billionaires' tax," arguing in a blog post that "the office worker can shoulder a higher tax rate than the heiress." He added, "We should end the 'tax-free lifestyle loan,' the gimmick that lets the ultra-wealthy borrow against their stock portfolios while reporting no taxable income."
Californians will vote on Prop 40 in November. The organization funded by Brin has proposed counter-ballot measures that, if passed, could effectively block Prop 40 by restricting the introduction of new taxes.
Meanwhile, Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang—an unlikely working-class hero—says he's "perfectly fine" with the tax. In a January interview with Bloomberg, Huang, who would owe around $8 billion, remarked, "I have not even thought about it once. We chose to live in Silicon Valley, and whatever taxes they would like to apply, so be it. I'm perfectly fine with it."