California voters reject measure to tax the wealth of billionaires
[November 10, 2026] By
SOPHIE AUSTIN
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California voters have rejected a
first-in-the-nation tax on the net worth of billionaires following a
contentious ballot fight that generated huge spending by some prominent
tech leaders eager to stop their taxes from going up.
The measure’s failure is a win for Democratic leaders who opposed it,
including Gov. Gavin Newsom, who may run for president in 2028. Critics
of the tax, known as Proposition 40, said it would have prompted
ultrawealthy taxpayers to leave the state.
Most Californians vote by mail, and any ballot postmarked by Election
Day that arrives within a week is counted, meaning it often takes days
or even weeks for close races to be settled. The Associated Press
determined Monday that ‘no’ had received enough votes to win.
The “no” side raised roughly 10 times as much as the “yes” side. Google
co-founder Sergey Brin alone dumped more than $100 million into a
political action committee working to defeat the measure.
The measure would have imposed a one-time 5% tax on the wealth of
Californians whose net worth exceeds $1 billion. Most of the money would
have been used to backfill federal funding cuts to healthcare, and 10%
would have gone toward education and food-assistance programs. SEIU
United Healthcare Workers West, which backed the tax, said it was
necessary to replace an estimated $100 billion the state will lose in
federal healthcare funding over five years.
Proposition 40 was the nation’s biggest test yet on an idea progressives
have long championed: raising taxes on the ultra-rich by targeting the
main way they make their money — through their investments as opposed to
the paychecks they receive from work.
Proponents say they could put the measure back on the ballot in 2028
The measure attracted support from liberal leaders beyond the state,
including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who rallied in cities across
California in the race’s closing weeks to urge voters to pass it.
The “Yes on 40” campaign said the measure sought to protect healthcare
for Californians and that they will put a tax back on the ballot in 2028
if patients are not protected.
“Buying an election is not the same as winning the debate,” the
measure's proponents said in a statement on Monday. “The billionaires
may have bought themselves a temporary victory at the ballot box, but
they have not bought themselves an end to this debate, and this is only
round one.”
Billionaires donated millions of dollars to a political action
committee, Building a Better California, working to defeat the measure.
The committee, which backed other measures on the ballot designed to
nullify the tax, raised more than $333 million, nearly a third of which
came from Brin.
The AP Voter Poll indicates that the majority of young voters in
California — those younger than 30 — voted “yes” on Proposition 40.
Older voters were far less supportive, with roughly 7 in 10 voters who
were 65 and older saying they voted “no” on the ballot measure.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a campaign event ahead of
the Nov. 3 midterms on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, in the Hollywood
section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jill Connelly)
 About half of voters with a
household income under $100,000 annually said they were in support
of the initiative. Closer to 6 in 10 California voters with an
income of $100,000 or higher said they were opposed.
Brin, along with his fellow Google co-founder Larry Page, was among
the billionaires who started cutting ties with the state in
anticipation of the possible tax. Another tech mogul, Mark
Zuckerberg, said he would remain in the state for eight years and
made a deal with Meta to help him pay the tax without losing his
ownership stake in the company.
Some feared the measure could drive wealthy taxpayers out of state
Some traditional Democratic allies, including Planned Parenthood and
the California Medical Association, were part of a coalition
opposing it. They were concerned about how the tax revenue would be
divvied up and about the potential impact on the state’s budget if
there was a mass exodus of wealthy taxpayers. California’s budget
relies heavily on the income tax of the state’s richest residents.
“Proposition 40 was a reckless experiment conducted on our state’s
economy with little regard for the harms it would cause,” the
coalition said in a statement.
Robert Swonger, an auto glass technician living near Sacramento
who’s politically independent, said before voting concluded Nov. 3
that he planned to vote against it.
“Obviously, I would like billionaires not to have as much money as
they do,” he said. “But I don’t believe taxing them out of existence
is going to work.”
Progressive politicians, including Sanders and Massachusetts Sen.
Elizabeth Warren, have long supported a federal wealth tax. Newsom
says a California wealth tax would disadvantage the state, but he
supports a national minimum tax on anyone with a net worth above
$100 million.
Days before Sanders held rallies in California cities last month,
Newsom told reporters that the senator’s focus on wealth inequality
was “spot-on.” But he said that “on this issue, we fundamentally
disagree.”
Supporters of the California tax started running ads recently in New
Hampshire, New Mexico and Virginia, states that will vote early in
the Democratic presidential primary in 2028, that criticize Newsom
for his opposition to the measure.
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