With Californians set to vote in just a few weeks on Proposition 40 – a measure proposing a one-time 5% wealth tax on the state’s billionaires – Google co-founder Larry Page has emerged as the wealthiest tech titan to sever ties with the state should the measure pass. The initiative specifically targets billionaires who were state residents as of January 1, 2026.
such as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, have stated they are “perfectly fine” with the proposal, multiple ultra-wealthy residents chose to exit before the January deadline While a few prominent executives. His departure is likely to deal a significant blow to California’s revenue projections as he will be the richest techie to leave the state.
Prop 40 was projected to generate roughly $100 billion for the state. However, according to an estimate by Fortune, just four departed tech leaders – Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Peter Thiel and former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick – would have collectively owed approximately $29 billion. Page’s family office, Koop, was transferred out of California and officially incorporated in Delaware in late December, according to an analysis of corporate records reported by Fortune. Their relocations before the residency cutoff mean the state has effectively lost out on more than a quarter of the measure’s total projected revenue pool before ballots are even counted.
Multiple associated entities, including Flu Lab LLC, One Aero and Oceankind, followed the same route, moving their registrations from California to Delaware during the same month. The departures of top-tier billionaires have already weakened the potential financial yield of the ballot measure.