California’s billionaires may have 2 choices in 2026: Leave the state or pay $50 million or more

[Hoodat]

California’s billionaires may have 2 choices in 2026: Leave the state or pay $50 million or more

The state may enforce a one-time 5% tax on the assets of residents with a net worth of more than $1 billion

Eva Terry  |  Dec 23, 2025  |  3:56 p.m. MST

“There will be no billionaires left in California,” American venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya said last Friday on a podcast.

In January, a California health care workers’ union will begin collecting signatures for a billionaire tax, which would enforce a one-time, 5% tax on the assets of Californians with a net worth of more than $1 billion. This would tax assets including stocks, artwork, collectibles, intellectual property and private company shares.

A wealth-intelligence firm estimated that 255 billionaires lived in California last year — a quarter of the U.S. total. For someone like Mark Zuckerberg, whose net worth is over $200 billion, he would be required to pay more than $10 billion to the state of California.

The union has said the money collected will fund the state’s health care, public education and food stamps programs.

If the group gathers 875,000 signatures, it will have a spot on the state’s ballot next November, The Wall Street Journal reported.

While some like UC Berkeley’s Emmanuel Saez say the tax will be “an example for the world” and “imitated in many places,” others believe the tax will ultimately tank their state’s economy.  .  .  .

https://www.deseret.com/politics/2025/12/23/california-billionaires-look-at-leaving-tax/


A "one-time 5% tax"?  Yeah, right.  As Willy Sutton once said, he robbed banks because that's where the money is.  Government robs wealth-creators because that's where the money comes from.

Who is John Galt?

[andy58-in-nh]

“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship."
 
― Alexander Fraser Tytler

[Wingnut]

Cali has a lot going for it.  Climate. Epic vistas. Palm trees. The Pacific ocean.  ButThere is more to life than having to be ruled by fruits and nuts.

[Kamaji]

The union has said the money collected will fund the state’s health care, public education and food stamps programs.

And that puts the lie to the claim that this will just be a one-time tax.  Those are operating expenses, not capital investments, so once the money is gone, those services will either cease, or the government will go back to the well for a second dip - and then a third, and a fourth, and ....  And since they will be gradually running out of billionaires, it will, much sooner than later, become a wealth tax on everyone in CA.

At which point, CA will have well and truly screwed itself.

[PeteS in CA]

IIRC, this would affect less than 300 people. The union thugs are relying on economic envy being stronger than the aversion to stealing from a tiny minority because it can be out-voted. The union thugs could be correct.

The union has said the money collected will fund the state’s health care, public education and food stamps programs.

It should not take a genius to figure out that this theft would be one-time $$$$ at most, and that ongoing programs should not be funded with one-time $$$$. Union thugs are too blinded by their economic envy/hatred to be that sort of not-quite-a-genius.

I'm no billionaire, but if this theft takes the ballot I will vote against it. That should be obvious, but preempting possible/probable straw-man gotchas seemed reasonable.

[Canuck Conservative]

Cali has a lot going for it.  Climate. Epic vistas. Palm trees. The Pacific ocean.

Problem for California is, there's a lot of places that have that, and not all of them have hostile attitudes towards success

[Kamaji]

Problem for California is, there's a lot of places that have that, and not all of them have hostile attitudes towards success

Not only that, but one doesn’t have to live in CA to enjoy those aspects of it, one nearly needs to go visit periodically. 

[Fishrrman]

Cue up Burt from Deliverance:

"One-time tax ???
My a@@ ..."

[Wingnut]

Not only that, but one doesn’t have to live in CA to enjoy those aspects of it, one nearly needs to go visit periodically.

They will tax that too. A Visitor tax. A travel tax. A tax tax. CAli love a tax. More than they already do.

[GtHawk]

They will tax that too. A Visitor tax. A travel tax. A tax tax. CAli love a tax. More than they already do.

yeah, kind of like Nevada’s Las Vegas.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Once a wealth tax is initiated, it will cascade down to millionaires,  then to average folks

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Am thinking that, like the Palisades wildfires, this is a planned event to buy land on the cheap.

Zero chance that California will not have waivers for some billionaires to escape the tax due to "strategic reasons".
These fat cats with waivers will remain to scoop up property sold by others to payoff the state tax.

Always, always follow the money.