The Golden State is losing its glitter as the Billionaire Tax Act triggers a high-stakes escape. California’s elite business titans aren’t just complaining about the new levies — they are fleeing the state entirely, taking their massive tax contributions and corporate headquarters with them.
CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, one of the richest people living in California, whose net worth is estimated to be between $240 billion, including his assets and investments, has bought a new residence in Florida.
The Billionaire Tax Act allows payments to be spread over five years, which would amount to $2.4 billion per year, for a total of $12 billion. Putting this into perspective, Zuckerberg alone would be enough to fund the entirety of California’s Department of Parks and Recreation for years. In order to pay this tax, Zuckerberg would have to liquidate millions of shares of Meta stock.
Meta’s CEO is far from a solitary figure in this high-stakes exodus. Alphabet co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the architects of Silicon Valley, have recently finalized their own departures for Florida.
By shifting their primary residencies and dozens of personal holding companies out of California before the 2026 deadline, the Google founders are effectively shielding a combined net worth of roughly $500 billion from the state’s 5% grab. That would be around $25 billion from the Google co-owners.
This apparent cash grab, proposed by the California Billionaire Tax Act (a proposed 2026 ballot initiative), is primarily sponsored and funded by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West. They aim to use the revenue to fund healthcare, public education, and food assistance programs.
The 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act introduced significant cuts to Medicaid and Medicare to finance broader legislative priorities, including extending 2017 tax cuts, resulting in over $1 trillion in projected cuts to Medicaid/CHIP. These cuts reduce provider payments, tighten eligibility for subsidies, and restrict benefits for immigrants, projected to increase the uninsured by over 10 million.
The Left views healthcare as a human right, not a privilege that is earned. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has made several public statements championing this belief.
These socialist ideologists now look to tax the rich to support their agenda, no matter the repercussions it might inflict upon the world’s fourth-largest economy.
Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) introduced the “Keep Jobs in California Act” on Friday to block the state from “chasing down” these residents with retroactive taxes.
“California’s proposed wealth tax is an unprecedented attempt to chase down people who have already left as a result of the state’s poor policies,” Kiley said.
“As a result, many of our state’s leading job creators are leaving preemptively,” he said. “No state should be allowed to reach back in time and impose a new tax on someone who no longer lives there. That is fundamentally unfair.”
The Billionaire Tax Act carries a retroactive start date of Jan. 1, 2026, meaning the tax would apply to a full year of wealth even if it isn’t approved by voters until November.
In a direct challenge to Sacramento, Kiley’s proposal includes a retroactive provision that matches the Jan. 1, 2026, effective date, setting up a definitive legal clash over which authority holds sway.
The retroactive tax would essentially block the trap being set by Sen. Sanders and SEIU-UHW, blocking the state from chasing down former residents.
BERNIE VS. NEWSOM, THE BATTLE FOR BILLIONAIRES
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has broken from his party’s left wing, calling himself “burdened by the facts.” He has warned that the tax will trigger a long-term tax revenue decline of hundreds of millions per year.
Even a progressive politician such as Gov. Newsom can see the writing on the wall.
Gov. Newsom needs to further recognize the effort Rep. Kiley is making and fight to keep billionaires in California, rather than confiscatory taxation.