It's really starting to look like Rep. Ro Khanna's push for a California tax on wealth is going to be the biggest own goal in the state's recent history.
As you may recall, this whole thing started with a plan by the SEIU to push a "one-time" 5% tax on about 180 billionaires who live in the state. Gov. Newsom came out against the plan but Rep. Khanna, who represents Silicon Valley, announced he supported it. When it was pointed out to Khanna that some billionaires would leave the state to avoid the retroactive tax, he made a smug joke saying "I will miss them very much."
Peter Thiel is leaving California if we pass a 1% tax on billionaires for 5 years to pay for healthcare for the working class facing steep Medicaid cuts.
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) December 27, 2025
I echo what FDR said with sarcasm of economic royalists when they threatened to leave, "I will miss them very much." https://t.co/5N8FxBqJww
One of the people he was talking about missing was Google co-founder Larry Page who had indicated he might move to avoid the wealth tax. Now, it seems that both Page and fellow Google co-founder Sergey Brin have indeed cut ties with California.
Mr. Brin and Mr. Page are cutting some ties with the state where they made their fortunes.
In the 10 days before Christmas, an entity connected to Mr. Brin, 52, terminated or moved 15 California limited liability companies that oversee some of his business interests and investments out of the state, according to documents seen by The New York Times. Seven of the companies — including those that appear to manage one of Mr. Brin’s superyachts and his interest in a private air terminal at San Jose’s international airport — were converted into Nevada entities.
Mr. Brin is joining Mr. Page, 52, in reducing his California presence. More than 45 California limited liability companies associated with Mr. Page filed documents last month to either become inactive or move out of the state, according to state records. A trust with ties to Mr. Page also purchased a $71.9 million mansion in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood this week, according to a deed seen by The Times.
Another entity jointly managed by Mr. Brin and Mr. Page moved out of California and to Nevada on Christmas Eve, according to a filing seen by The Times.
This is on top of other billionaires who have already made the same moves, including Peter Thiel, Larry Ellison and David Sacks. Plus there may be others. Chamath Palihapitiya, a venture capitalist who has been extremely critical of the wealth tax, posted this a few days ago.
People I know, with a collective net worth of $500B, scrambled and left California for good yesterday.
— Chamath Palihapitiya (@chamath) January 1, 2026
They took no risk because of the proposed asset seizure tax - introduced as a “Billionaire Tax”.
Without these people, the California budget deficit will only get bigger.…
People I know, with a collective net worth of $500B, scrambled and left California for good yesterday.
They took no risk because of the proposed asset seizure tax - introduced as a “Billionaire Tax”.
Without these people, the California budget deficit will only get bigger.
This hole gets filled in one of two ways: more borrowing from the bond market - who is purely financial and unforgiving or more taxes on everyone else.
Meanwhile waste, fraud and abuse runs rampant from the hundreds of billions in revenues the state already collects.
California's tax system is already extremely progressive, meaning that even without the new wealth tax it relies heavily on the top 1%. So what happens when the top taxpayers simply leave the state and move their companies to Texas or Florida?
Even before the tax has been passed, California has guaranteed that it will have a much smaller tax base next year. So if the wealth tax doesn't pass, the budget shortfall the tax is meant to fix is going to go up.
Who could have seen this coming? The answer is everyone, everyone but Rep. Ro Khanna who thinks having the tax base flee the state is a reason to smirk.
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