California Ballot Measure Targets Billionaire Wealth for Health Care

Voters in California will decide in November whether to impose a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of the state’s billionaires.

The measure, known as Proposition 40, targets slightly more than 200 individuals, including Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, and George Lucas. If approved, the tax would raise approximately $100 billion to fund the state’s healthcare system. Proponents argue the funds are necessary to offset federal cuts stemming from President Donald Trump’s tax and spending legislation. Suzanne Jimenez of Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West described the plan as a short-term solution to prevent a collapse in healthcare services while a longer-term funding model is developed.

California holds the largest economy in the United States and ranks fourth globally, surpassing the economies of India and the United Kingdom. Despite this economic scale, the state has the nation’s largest share of homeless people and one of the widest wealth gaps. Francesco Trebbi, a public policy professor at the University of California, Berkeley, believes this is the first billionaire tax, noting that it targets an extreme percentile of the wealth distribution.

Governor Gavin Newsom, whose term is ending, opposes the measure. He warns that the tax could drive wealthy residents and their associated income tax revenue out of the state. Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, has contributed more than $100 million to a political organization funding ballot measures that could block the proposal. A September poll by the Los Angeles Times and the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies found that 45% of likely voters support the tax, 42% oppose it, and 13% remain undecided. A majority of votes is required for the measure to pass.

If the proposal succeeds, the tax will apply retroactively to anyone with a net worth of at least $1 billion who resided in California as of January 1, 2026. At least six billionaires have reportedly left the state, including Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, venture capitalist Peter Thiel, former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, and Hankey Group founder Don Hankey. Hankey told Forbes that he moved to Nevada because the proposal made him feel unwanted despite the jobs his companies created.

Mark Zuckerberg informed Meta’s board last month that he is considering moving his primary residence out of California. Meta, which is headquartered in the state, agreed to a new stock deal giving Zuckerberg additional shares to offset potential losses. He could owe as much as $12.5 billion under the proposed tax. Andy Fang, co-founder of DoorDash, called the measure stupid. Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, expressed support for the tax, telling CBS that he does not mind paying taxes and that higher earners should pay more.

Senator Bernie Sanders told a Los Angeles rally that billionaires believe they have a God-given right to rule. He predicted that voters would teach them a powerful lesson on November 3. Washington state voters are also weighing a 9.9% tax on income over $1 million annually. Kristian Niemietz of the Institute of Economic Affairs noted that only Spain, Norway, and Switzerland currently maintain wealth taxes, calling such levies more trouble than they are worth.

The top 1% of households held nearly 32% of wealth in the third quarter of 2025, near the highest levels in over three decades. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, 72% of Californians say the gap between rich and poor is widening, and a similar share believes the state government should do more. Trebbi said the measure is driven by anti-elite sentiment and is really not about Proposition 40, but about trying to re-balance the scale a little bit.