{"id":737291,"date":"2026-07-06T09:55:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T06:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/tech-billionaires-spend-120m-against-california-tax\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T09:55:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T06:55:16","slug":"tech-billionaires-spend-120m-against-california-tax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/tech-billionaires-spend-120m-against-california-tax\/","title":{"rendered":"Tech billionaires spend $120M against California tax"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4ed1a900261\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4ed1a900261\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/tech-billionaires-spend-120m-against-california-tax\/#TLDR\" >TL;DR<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/tech-billionaires-spend-120m-against-california-tax\/#The_AI_subtext\" >The AI subtext<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.thenextweb.com\/2026\/07\/california-billionaire-tax-tech-opposition-.avif\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n<p><em><\/p>\n<div class=\"postContent-tldr\">\n<h4 class=\"postContent-offsetTitle\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"TLDR\"><\/span>TL;DR<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Tech billionaires have poured over $120m into fighting California\u2019s Proposition 40, a one-time 5% wealth tax on billionaires heading to the November ballot, against $31m raised by union backers. Sergey Brin leads with $82m and has moved assets out of state; Doerr, Moritz, Collison, Schmidt, Larsen, Thiel, and others follow. Donation figures come from campaign filings via Business Insider.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Silicon Valley\u2019s wealthiest are spending heavily to stop California\u2019s proposed billionaire tax, according to a\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/california-billionaire-tax-donations-names-list-sergey-brin-2026-7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Business Insider tally of campaign filings<\/a>. Opponents have poured more than $120m into sinking or blunting the measure, roughly four times the $31m raised by its union backers.<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2026_California_billionaire_tax_initiative\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Proposition 40<\/a>\u00a0would impose a one-time 5% tax on residents and trusts worth over $1bn when Californians vote in November. Sponsor SEIU-UHW says the levy on the state\u2019s roughly 200 billionaires would\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.com\/Politics\/proposed-billionaire-tax-california-spurs-controversy-heavy-spending\/story?id=133429896\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">fund healthcare, food assistance, and education<\/a>, with proponents projecting $100bn in revenue.<\/p>\n<p>Google cofounder Sergey Brin is the opposition\u2019s single largest funder, giving $82m to a committee called Building a Better California. That includes a $16m cheque cut on 15 May, per BI, weeks before the ballot deadline.<\/p>\n<div class=\"inarticle-wrapper channel-cta\">\n<div class=\"ica-text\">\n<p class=\"ica-text__title\">TNW City Coworking space &#8211; Where your best work h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ens<\/p>\n<p>A workspace designed for growth, collaboration, and endless networking opportunities in the heart of tech.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Brin, whom Bloomberg\u2019s index reportedly ranks the world\u2019s third-richest person at $280bn, moved a raft of LLCs out of California before a key January deadline. He has\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/maryroeloffs\/2026\/04\/28\/google-billionaire-sergey-brin-compares-california-wealth-tax-to-soviet-union-socialism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">compared the tax to Soviet socialism<\/a>, telling The New York Times he does not want California to \u201c<em>end up in the same place<\/em>\u201d as the country his family fled.<\/p>\n<p>Kleiner Perkins chairman John Doerr, who wrote Google\u2019s famous first $12.5m cheque, is the second-biggest donor at $10m. Former Sequoia boss Michael Moritz has given $7.5m and S<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a>e chief Patrick Collison $7m, per the filings cited by BI.<\/p>\n<p>Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, long an advocate of\u00a0closer ties between tech and government, was the group\u2019s earliest donor after Brin at just over $3m. Ripple executive chairman Chris Larsen, whose company is a founding partner in the\u00a0Open USD stablecoin consortium, gave $2.5m plus $5m to a separate opposition group that Ripple matched.<\/p>\n<p>The list runs on through Wonderful Company\u2019s Stewart Resnick ($2.5m), DoorDash CEO Tony Xu ($2m), Affirm\u2019s Max Levchin ($1m), and Wicklow Capital\u2019s Daniel Tierny ($500,000). Angel investor Ron Conway gave $100,000 to another group after failing to persuade Governor Gavin <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a>om to broker a deal that would have kept the measure off the ballot.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_AI_subtext\"><\/span>The AI subtext<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Peter Thiel, whose Founders Fund just\u00a0raised $6bn for AI bets, took a different route. He gave $3m in December to the political arm of the California Business Roundtable, and The New York Times reports he is spending more time in Argentina.<\/p>\n<p>The fight is inseparable from the AI boom that has swollen the fortunes now under threat, with Brin still\u00a0central to Alphabet\u2019s AI strategy. Building a Better California has also pushed rival ballot questions designed to blunt the tax if it passes.<\/p>\n<p>Supporters argue billionaires enriched partly by public investment can afford a one-off levy to patch gutted health budgets. Opponents warn of capital flight, valuation chaos, and years of litigation, and Brin\u2019s pre-deadline LLC moves suggest the flight has already begun.<\/p>\n<p>This is a tech elite more used to gathering on\u00a0Necker Island\u00a0than fighting ballot measures. November will show whether $120m can buy a majority.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/tech-billionaires-pour-120m-into-killing-californias-wealth-tax\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TL;DR Tech billionaires have poured over $120m into fighting California\u2019s Proposition 40, a one-time 5% wealth tax on billionaires heading to the November ballot, against $31m raised by union backers. Sergey Brin leads with $82m and has moved assets out of state; Doerr, Moritz, Collison, Schmidt, Larsen, Thiel, and others follow. Donation figures come from&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":737292,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media.thenextweb.com\/2026\/07\/california-billionaire-tax-tech-opposition-.avif","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-737291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=737291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/737292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=737291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=737291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=737291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}