In 2024, California had 255 billionaires, more than any other state. A state ballot initiative aimed at taxing the state's wealthiest residents could be put to a public vote in autumn 2026.

In 2024, California had 255 billionaires, more than any other state. A state ballot initiative aimed at taxing the state's wealthiest residents could be put to a public vote in…

"But the truth is a lot of ultra wealthy people borrow money against their assets and live off of that borrowed money."

Ballot initiative, opposed by the ultra-wealthy, would levy one-time 5% tax on individuals worth more than $1bn

California has more billionaires than any other state — a few hundred, by some estimates. Nearly half its personal income tax revenue is from the top 1%.

As billionaires flee the state to avoid the proposed wealth tax, other high earners support the one-time tax.

Billionaires live under "buy, borrow, die," and California's wealth tax wouldn't touch that. An estimated $1 trillion of wealth has already fled.

Peter Thiel and Gavin Newsom are united in opposition to the billionaire tax.