Wealth tax threat prompts at least six billionaires to cut ties with California, with about 20 more mulling exit: report | Latest Tech News
The threat of a steep new wealth tax in California has reportedly prompted at least six billionaires including Larry Page and Peter Thiel to cut their ties with the state — and as many as 20 others could possibly be heading for the exits.
The half-dozen billionaires made their strikes before New Year’s Day — the cutoff date to keep away from a potential one-time tax of 5% on fortunes exceeding $1 billion — which California residents will vote on in November, according to Bloomberg News.
David Lesperance, a tax adviser who specializes in relocating ultra-wealthy purchasers out of high-tax jurisdictions, told the outlet he personally helped 4 billionaires end their California residency before the proposal’s Jan. 1 cutoff date.
Larry Page, the Google co-founder and one of the world’s richest males, has relocated out of California. AP
Divesh Makan, co-founder of Silicon Valley investment firm ICONIQ Capital and a wealth supervisor for some of the tech industry’s richest figures, said he is aware of of as many as 5 households that have already left the state.
Makan told Bloomberg he expects another 15 to 20 billionaire households to depart if the tax is accredited by voters — a good portion of California’s roughly 200 billionaires.
Google co-founder Page has quietly shifted his base to Florida after snapping up roughly $173 million value of waterfront property in Miami’s Coconut Grove.
He purchased a $101.5 million property in December, adopted days later by a $71.9 million mansion less than a mile away. The strikes coincided with the formation of Florida-based entities tied to his household workplace.
Page formally cut ties between California and most of his belongings forward of the Jan. 1 deadline, according to Business Insider.
Thiel, the billionaire PayPal co-founder and outstanding conservative donor, has also deepened his Florida footprint.
Peter Thiel, the billionaire PayPal co-founder, has deepened his Florida footprint as California debates a one-time 5% tax on billionaires. Getty Images for Uber, X and The Free Press
Thiel, who has long criticized wealth taxes, announced on Dec. 31 that his investment firm, Thiel Capital, had opened a Miami workplace. He has already registered to vote in Florida and has been spending more time outdoors California, even as he still maintains a home in Los Angeles.
The Post has sought remark from Page and Thiel.
David Sacks, a billionaire enterprise capitalist and co-founder of Craft Ventures, announced on the ultimate day of 2025 that his firm had opened an workplace in Austin, Texas.
Sacks, who beforehand lived in San Francisco, relocated earlier in December, timing the transfer just forward of the proposed residency cutoff.
David Sacks, a billionaire enterprise capitalist and co-founder of Craft Ventures, moved from San Francisco to Austin, Texas, late last yr. AP
His announcement didn’t point out the wealth tax, though it got here as chatter around the poll initiative grew louder.
Others are overtly weighing exits. Sergey Brin, Google’s other co-founder, (*20*)has been reported by real estate and industry sources to be in discussions to buy a waterfront home in the Miami space, though no deal has been confirmed.
Tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya has publicly said he’s giving “serious consideration” to shifting to Texas, warning that the tax might drive entrepreneurs and capital out of California.
Sergey Brin, Google’s other co-founder, has been reported to be in discussions to buy a Miami-area home as rich tech figures quietly weigh exits from California over the proposed wealth tax. Bloomberg via Getty Images
Not every billionaire is bolting.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said this week that he has no plans to depart Silicon Valley and is “perfectly fine” paying the tax if it turns into law — a stance the union backers of the measure have seized on as evidence the exodus is overstated.
Real property developer John Sobrato has also said he’s staying put, though he expects the proposal to in the end fail at the poll box.
Backers of the poll initiative argue the tax is a obligatory response to a looming fiscal disaster, pointing to a projected $190 billion shortfall in funding for Medi-Cal over the next decade after federal healthcare cuts.
The bulk of the proceeds from the tax, championed by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, can be earmarked for healthcare, training and food help applications.
Supporters say the levy targets a slender group whose wealth has surged in current years and argue that it could have little affect on billionaires’ existence while producing tens of billions of {dollars} for public providers.
David Lesperance, a tax adviser who helps ultra-wealthy purchasers relocate, said he personally assisted 4 billionaires in leaving California forward of the proposed residency cutoff tied to the wealth tax. Lesperance & Associates
They also level to other states where greater taxes on the rich haven’t led to sustained exits.
“The state forgets that the top 1% pays nearly half of the income tax,” William Stern, founder of Cardiff, told The Post on Thursday.
“If you chase the ‘golden goose’ out of the state with a wealth tax, who pays for the lights? This isn’t a political debate — it’s a math problem.”
Stern warned that if the tax base leaves, “the burden shifts to the middle class.”
More than a dozen Silicon Valley billionaires are said to be getting ready to depart California, according to a report. Uladzik Kryhin – stock.adobe.com
“We are watching a state commit economic suicide by trying to tax money that hasn’t even been made yet.”
Advisers who work with the ultra-rich say the mobility of billionaires is exactly what makes the proposal dangerous.
“If you look at the 200 targets, they don’t need to be in California to make and maintain their wealth,” Lesperance, managing director of Lesperance & Associates, told Bloomberg News.
“All my clients have family offices who are going to dot the I’s and cross the T’s and put the notices in Business Wire and change the voters registration and all that stuff.”
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