California billionaires divided over new tax proposal

Several prominent figures, including Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, have already moved their business entities to Florida and Nevada, while others like Palantir cofounder Peter Thiel and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg have previously relocated. Opponents of the measure have contributed over $340 million to a campaign to defeat Proposition 40, spending more than $1 million daily.

Palmer Luckey, a 34-year-old tech billionaire and founder of Oculus and Anduril, is among those choosing to stay. During a press conference last week, Luckey stated, “I think that this tax act, if you can call it a tax, is going to cause a lot of problems.” He added that he isn’t leaving, stating, “I think California is something special. I want to fight for California.” Luckey, whose net worth is estimated at $5.9 billion by Forbes, expressed concerns about the bill’s potential impact on businesses and the method of assessing taxes, as well as the inclusion of illiquid assets in wealth calculations.

Luckey acknowledged pressure from fellow billionaires to leave, but declined to participate in what he sees as an exodus. “This has been a point of friction between me and some of my other billionaire friends,” he said.

Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia and the world’s ninth-richest person with a net worth of $180 billion, also plans to remain in California. “The more you make, the more taxes you pay. And I’m okay with that,” Huang stated in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning last month. He emphasized the importance of the opportunities afforded to him in the U.S., allowing him to pursue education, build a company, and achieve success. “The fact that I can afford to pay $8 billion in taxes over five years is a privilege,” Huang said.