The threat of a steep new wealth tax in California has reportedly prompted at least six billionaires including Larry Page and Peter Thiel to cut their ties with the state — and as many as 20 others could be heading for the exits.
The half-dozen billionaires made their moves before New Year’s Day — the cutoff date to avoid a potential one-time tax of 5% on fortunes exceeding $1 billion — which California residents will vote on in November, according to Bloomberg News.
David Lesperance, a tax adviser who specializes in relocating ultra-wealthy clients out of high-tax jurisdictions, told the outlet he personally helped four billionaires end their California residency before the proposal’s Jan. 1 cutoff date.
Divesh Makan, co-founder of Silicon Valley investment firm ICONIQ Capital and a wealth manager for some of the tech industry’s richest figures, said he knows of as many as five families that have already left the state.
Makan told Bloomberg he expects another 15 to 20 billionaire families to depart if the tax is approved by voters — a significant portion of California’s roughly 200 billionaires.
Google co-founder Page has quietly shifted his base to Florida after snapping up roughly $173 million worth of waterfront property in Miami’s Coconut Grove.
He bought a $101.5 million estate in December, followed days later by a $71.9 million mansion less than a mile away. The moves coincided with the formation of Florida-based entities tied to his family office.
Page officially cut ties between California and most of his assets ahead of the Jan. 1 deadline, according to Business Insider.
Thiel, the billionaire PayPal co-founder and prominent conservative donor, has also deepened his Florida footprint.
Thiel, who has long criticized wealth taxes, announced on Dec. 31 that his investment firm, Thiel Capital, had opened a Miami office. He has already registered to vote in Florida and has been spending more time outside California, even as he still maintains a home in Los Angeles.
The Post has sought comment from Page and Thiel.
David Sacks, a billionaire venture capitalist and co-founder of Craft Ventures, announced on the final day of 2025 that his firm had opened an office in Austin, Texas.
Sacks, who previously lived in San Francisco, relocated earlier in December, timing the move just ahead of the proposed residency cutoff.
His announcement did not mention the wealth tax, though it came as chatter around the ballot initiative grew louder.
Others are openly weighing exits. Sergey Brin, Google’s other co-founder, has been reported by real estate and industry sources to be in discussions to buy a waterfront home in the Miami area, though no deal has been confirmed.
Tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya has publicly said he is giving “serious consideration” to moving to Texas, warning that the tax could drive entrepreneurs and capital out of California.
Not every billionaire is bolting.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said this week that he has no plans to leave Silicon Valley and is “perfectly fine” paying the tax if it becomes law — a stance the union backers of the measure have seized on as evidence the exodus is overstated.
Real estate developer John Sobrato has also said he is staying put, though he expects the proposal to ultimately fail at the ballot box.
Backers of the ballot initiative argue the tax is a necessary response to a looming fiscal crisis, pointing to a projected $190 billion shortfall in funding for Medi-Cal over the next decade after federal healthcare cuts.
The bulk of the proceeds from the tax, championed by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, would be earmarked for healthcare, education and food assistance programs.
Supporters say the levy targets a narrow group whose wealth has surged in recent years and argue that it would have little impact on billionaires’ lifestyles while generating tens of billions of dollars for public services.
They also point to other states where higher taxes on the wealthy have not led to sustained exits.
“The state forgets that the top 1% pays nearly half of the income tax,” William Stern, founder of Cardiff, told The Post on Thursday.
“If you chase the ‘golden goose’ out of the state with a wealth tax, who pays for the lights? This isn’t a political debate — it’s a math problem.”
Stern warned that if the tax base leaves, “the burden shifts to the middle class.”
“We are watching a state commit economic suicide by trying to tax money that hasn’t even been made yet.”
Advisers who work with the ultra-rich say the mobility of billionaires is precisely what makes the proposal risky.
“If you look at the 200 targets, they don’t need to be in California to make and maintain their wealth,” Lesperance, managing director of Lesperance & Associates, told Bloomberg News.
“All my clients have family offices who are going to dot the I’s and cross the T’s and put the notices in Business Wire and change the voters registration and all that stuff.”
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