California is a mess. What they really need is more leaders with economic sense.
Instead, they may be considering something that is going to make things worse: a wealth tax ballot measure.
The moves are being driven by a potential California ballot measure from the health care union, Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, the people said. The proposal calls for California residents worth more than $1 billion to be taxed the equivalent of 5 percent of their assets.
If the measure gains enough signatures to reach the state ballot in November and wins approval, it will retroactively apply to anyone who lived in California as of Jan. 1, 2026. Those with $20 billion in assets who resided in the state on that date would face a one-time tax of $1 billion and have five years to pay it, according to the terms of the measure.
Now it remains to be seen if this makes it to a ballot measure. But it's already got people thinking about going elsewhere, according to the report, including venture capitalist Peter Thiel, a venture capitalist, and Larry Page, a Google co-founder.
Mr. Thiel, 58, who owns a home in the Hollywood Hills and operates a personal investment firm from Los Angeles, has explored opening an office for that firm, Thiel Capital, in another state and spending more time outside California, three of the people said.
Other billionaires who appear to be making moves to decrease their presence in California include Mr. Page, 52, a longtime resident of Palo Alto. He has discussed leaving the state by the end of the year, according to two people briefed on the talks. In mid-December, three limited liability companies associated with Mr. Page filed documents to incorporate in Florida, according to state records.
That's just two people who have been mentioned, and I'm sure there are probably more who see the writing on the wall in the Golden State.
READ MORE: Kevin Kiley Owns Gavin Newsom With Receipts That CA Is the True 'Fraud Capital of America'
What's the response to this report from Democrats? Our sister site Twitchy noted this cluelessness from Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17). I remember when they used to say this guy was a "moderate."
Peter Thiel is leaving California if we pass a 1% tax on billionaires for 5 years to pay for healthcare for the working class facing steep Medicaid cuts.
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) December 27, 2025
I echo what FDR said with sarcasm of economic royalists when they threatened to leave, "I will miss them very much." https://t.co/5N8FxBqJww
Peter Thiel is leaving California if we pass a 1% tax on billionaires for 5 years to pay for healthcare for the working class facing steep Medicaid cuts. I echo what FDR said with sarcasm of economic royalists when they threatened to leave, "I will miss them very much."
You wonder why California is such a mess? It's this attitude. No care to make it more amenable for business owners, so people want to move to and invest in the state. Instead, insult them to make sure they know how ignorant you are and confirm that they need to leave. And they'll take their businesses and the jobs that they can create with them. You will "miss them very much."
It's 5 percent on their assets. And if they don't have that readily available because the assets are their companies, they might have to liquidate things. Then what, after you've already taken their money and still have rising healthcare costs? They'll be where the Democrats are with the Obamacare subsidies; you have to keep paying more in taxpayer dollars.
Then, too, why would anyone move their businesses to a state that does things like this?
Does anyone think that if California passed this, they'd stop at that amount? Or stop at billionaires? Remember, the income tax was originally supposed to only be on the wealthy. How did that work out? How about solving the healthcare costs rather than trying to grab more of people's money?
Chamath Palihapitiya, tech venture capitalist and co-host of the All-In podcast, lambasted this kind of attitude. He posted a brilliant rant about how Democrats already lost Elon Musk because of this kind of ignorant stupidity, in part because of a nasty tweet by Lorena Fletcher, a former California assembly member.
Warning for graphic language:
This idiotic attack, by an inept California politician, on a productive California resident caused him to leave. It should not be lost on anyone that this has already cost California $10’s of billions in lost taxes from Elon and the plethora of well paid employees that followed… pic.twitter.com/2aADLB4WWH
— Chamath Palihapitiya (@chamath) December 25, 2025
This idiotic attack, by an inept California politician, on a productive California resident caused him to leave. It should not be lost on anyone that this has already cost California $10’s of billions in lost taxes from Elon and the plethora of well paid employees that followed him out of the state.
That number will exceed $200B+ as SpaceX goes public and Tesla grows even more and whatever amazing new companies he starts from now…in Texas.
Said differently, had California embraced its innovators and worked with them to find ways to support them, they could count on hundreds of billions in tax revenue.
Without him, they’ve gone from surpluses to massive deficits.
The[y] will now ask you for the money.
What happens if even more entrepreneurs leave? What jobs will be left in California? Who will pay the taxes?
I’m glad Elon left and took his tax revenue with him. It has helped expose how fiscally broken California is. If it is not obvious to you, it should be.
Yet these politicians refuse to change. Refuse to do audits and spend less. Instead, they now target others down the list and keep asking for more. There is no amount of “more money” that will fix theft, financial profligacy and mismanagement by incompetent elected officials.
We need wholesale reforms in California before the state goes bankrupt.
We probably have until 2030 at best.
Preach. There's so much truth there. Democrats always think they just aren't grabbing enough of their money, and they just need to grab a little more. But then, it never ends, and they never solve anything. Indeed, they only make it worse.
