Billionaires Mull Fleeing CA Over Proposed Tax On Ultrawealthy: Reports

California’s richest residents are considering fleeing the state in the wake of a proposed one-time, 5 percent tax on the state’s billionaires, according to recent reports.

The New York Times last week reported tech venture capitalist Peter Thiel and Google co-founder Larry Page were mulling whether to cut or reduce ties to the Golden State, with the newspaper citing five people with knowledge of their thinking.

Thiel’s investment firm, Thiel Capital, announced Wednesday it had opened a new office in Miami to complement its Los Angeles operations, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Three companies associated with Page filed documents in mid-December to incorporate in Florida, the Times reported.

There are over 200 billionaires in California, most of whom live around Silicon Valley, but a handful of whom are based in Southern California, according to the Chronicle.

Tax and immigration advisor to the ultrawealthy David Lesperance recently told The Sacramento Bee that he had at least four clients who had completed steps to relocate their official residences outside California.

The billionaire tax proposal was put forth by Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West and would need about 875,000 signatures to make November’s ballot, according to the Chronicle, which reported that, if approved, it would be based on billionaires’ Jan. 1, 2026, net worth.

Gov. Gavin Newsom opposes the plan and has said California can’t afford to ignore competition in other states, the Chronicle reported.

If passed, the funds from the tax would go to health care and food aid in response to federal Medicaid and assistance program cuts approved in 2025, according to the Bee.

Suzanne Jimenez, the union’s chief of staff, has dismissed concerns that billionaires will relocate, calling such threats “a Chicken Little argument,” the Bee reported.