Zuckerberg and 200 Others Face $100B One-Time Bill in California

California voters will decide on November 3 whether to impose a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of the state's billionaires. Proposition 40 targets the more than 200 individuals residing in the state with net assets of at least $1 billion. If approved, the measure would raise an estimated $100 billion to address federal funding cuts to the state's healthcare system.

The revenue is intended to plug gaps created by President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill. Suzanne Jimenez of Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, a campaign leader, described the levy as a short-term solution. She told the BBC that without the tax, the state risks a healthcare collapse while longer-term funding strategies are developed.

Prominent figures named in the levy include Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah Winfrey, Kim Kardashian, and George Lucas. Zuckerberg, who could owe up to $12.5 billion, told Meta's board last month he is considering moving his primary residence out of the state. Meta agreed to a new stock deal to provide him with additional shares to offset the potential financial hit.

Governor Gavin Newsom, whose term ends soon, is the most prominent opponent. He warns the tax could drive wealthy residents and their income tax revenue away from California. Google cofounder Sergey Brin 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 45% of likely voters in favor, 42% opposed, and 13% undecided.

The tax would apply retroactively to anyone worth at least $1 billion who lived in California as of January 1, 2026. At least six billionaires have reportedly left the state, including Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, venture capitalist Peter Thiel, former Uber boss Travis Kalanick, and Hankey Group founder Don Hankey. Hankey told Forbes he moved to Nevada because the proposal made him feel unwanted despite the jobs his companies created.

Supporters argue the measure addresses extreme wealth concentration. Francesco Trebbi, a public policy professor at the University of California, Berkeley, called it the first billionaire tax targeting an extreme percentile of the wealth distribution. Nvidia chief Jensen Huang told CBS he does not mind paying taxes based on higher earnings. Senator Bernie Sanders predicted at a Los Angeles rally that billionaires would learn a powerful lesson on November 3.

The proposal fits into a national context of rising inequality, with the top 1% of households holding nearly 32% of wealth in the third quarter of 2025. Washington state voters are also weighing a 9.9% millionaires tax on income over $1 million. A similar share of 72% of Californians say the gap between rich and poor is widening, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.