What business leaders are saying — and doing — about California's proposed billionaire tax

Jensen Huang, Mark Cuban, and Sergey Brin have all commented on California's wealth tax proposal.Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images; Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images; Phillip Faraone/VF25/Getty Images for Vanity FairWealthy business leaders have come out for and against the California wealth tax proposal.State labor groups proposed a 5% tax on California residents with assets exceeding $1 billion.Mark Cuban said that only "idiot startup founders" will stay in California if it passes.Some of the biggest names in business are speaking up about California's billionaire tax proposal. Others are physically relocating.The measure proposes a one-time 5% tax on California residents with assets exceeding $1 billion. The measure was certified for the November 2026 ballot on June 25 after receiving enough valid signatures.If the proposal passes, the tax would apply retroactively to all California residents as of January 1.Proposed by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West labor union, the bill attempts to fill a projected multibillion-dollar state budget deficit.California is home to some of the biggest companies — in both value and prestige — in the US. The state boasts Hollywood and Silicon Valley, although some of the industries' key players have relocated.In a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom obtained by Business Insider, attorney Alex Spiro wrote that his clients would "permanently relocate" if the tax becomes law. Spiro has previously represented billionaires and celebrities.Newsom said he opposed the one-time wealth tax for the state but advocated a nationwide billionaire tax instead.From Bill Ackman to Mark Cuban to Elon Musk, here's how business leaders and politicians have reacted to the tax proposal:Bill AckmanPATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty ImagesThe billionaire CEO of Pershing Square Holdings wrote on X in December that he was "opposed to wealth taxes because they effectively represent an expropriation of private property," which can have "unintended and negative consequences."However, he said he's in favor of a "fairer tax system."For example, Ackman wrote that an individual who had amassed a billion dollars or more in wealth could pay no personal income tax by living off loans secured by their company's stock. A change in the tax code could fix that problem, he wrote."One shouldn't be able to live and spend like a billionaire and pay no tax," Ackman wrote.As for California's "budget problems," Ackman wrote that the issue wasn't a lack of tax revenue — it was about "how the money is being spent."Ben HorowitzPhillip Faraone/Getty Images for WIREDInvestor Ben Horowitz criticized the wealth tax during an interview with TBPN.Horowitz, who relocated from California to Las Vegas in 2021, said the tax was the "best strategy" to break the state's streak of birthing some of the most successful entrepreneurs."It's been so hard to break the Silicon Valley network effect, but this is the best strategy I've seen," he said.The Andreesen Horowitz cofounder said that founders in Norway left the country because of its unrealized capital gains tax."Norway's got a lot of extremely smart people, great entrepreneurs, but they all left," he said.Jensen HuangPatrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty ImagesNvidia CEO Jensen Huang doesn't seem to be losing sleep about it.Huang, who was ranked the ninth-richest person in the world with a net worth of $155 billion as of January 6, told Bloomberg TV that the tax hadn't crossed his mind while "trying to build the future of AI.""I've got to tell you, I have not even thought about it once," Huang told Ludlow. "We chose to live in Silicon Valley, and whatever taxes they would like to apply, so be it. I'm perfectly fine with it."Nvidia is based in Silicon Valley because "that's where the talent pool is," he said.Ro KhannaTom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesThe Congressman for California's 17th district, which covers much of Silicon Valley, said that the proposal was "good for American innovation."After receiving thousands of comments on a December 26 post bidding a sarcastic goodbye to those threatening to leave the state, Khanna explained his support in a seven-paragraph X post on Saturday.He wrote that Nvidia would be built all over again, even with the wealth tax."Jensen [Huang] wasn't thinking I won't start this company because I may have to one day pay a 1% tax on my billions," Khanna wrote. "He built here because the talent is here."Khanna argued that innovation would be further stifled by the "political dysfunction and social unrest" that comes with wide wealth gaps.In a statement to Business Insider, Sarah Drory, a spokesperson for Rep. Khanna, wrote that the representative has "always supported a modest wealth tax on billionaires to deal with staggering inequality and to make sure people have healthcare.""He has advocated for common sense workarounds for startup founders whose companies are not profitable and who have illiquid stock," Dr

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