Venture capitalist Peter Thiel has written his biggest political check in years, donating $3 million to a California business group leading the fight against a proposed billionaire wealth tax. The move positions the Palantir co-founder as one of the earliest and most prominent financiers of an emerging campaign to stop the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act before it reaches voters.
Thiel made the $3 million contribution on December 29 to the California Business Roundtable, a powerful Sacramento-based lobbying group that represents large employers and corporate interests. The donation is the first seven-figure check publicly tied to opposition to the billionaire tax proposal and Thiel’s largest disclosed political gift since the 2022 midterm elections, when he spent more than $35 million backing populist conservative candidates. The New York Times was first to report on the donation, citing a public disclosure.
While the money is not formally earmarked only for the wealth-tax fight, the Roundtable is expected to serve as a central vehicle for organizing and funding the business community’s push to defeat the measure. Rob Lapsley, the group’s president, has said he is actively courting deep-pocketed donors across the state as part of a broader effort to marshal corporate and elite support against the tax initiative and other proposals viewed as unfriendly to business.
