The union-backed measure sought a one-time 5% levy to counter healthcare funding shortfalls linked to Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. However, opponents outspent supporters nearly 14-fold to depict the proposal as a reckless economic threat. The campaign not only stopped the immediate tax, but voters simultaneously passed Proposition 42, establishing a formal ban on any future taxes targeting billionaire wealth.
Key points
California voters simultaneously blocked a wealth tax and approved a ban on future taxes…: California voters simultaneously blocked a wealth tax and approved a ban on future taxes targeting billionaire fortunes.
Major tech figures from Google, Palantir, DoorDash, Stripe, and Reddit mounted the costli…: Major tech figures from Google, Palantir, DoorDash, Stripe, and Reddit mounted the costliest opposition campaign in state history.
The tax measure failed broadly across the state after facing active opposition from Gover…: The tax measure failed broadly across the state after facing active opposition from Governor Gavin Newsom and Governor-elect Xavier Becerra.
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In the hours after polls closed on election day, tech industry players began praising Sergey Brin, the co-founder of Google, on social media.
“Huge thanks to Sergey Brin here,” wrote Garry Tan, the CEO of Y Combinator. Venture capitalist Ilya Sukhar posted: “God bless Sergey Brin.” And David Marcus, a crypto entrepreneur, simply wrote: “Hero.”
They were all referring to Brin’s instrumental role in the defeat of California’s wealth tax ballot measure, known as Proposition 40. The proposed one-time 5% tax on billionaires in the state is poised to be defeated by double-digit numbers. Simultaneously, an opposition initiative that would ban any taxation on billionaire wealth, Proposition 42, put on the ballot by Brin and a cohort of the state’s ultra-rich, passed.
Brin, whose net worth is about $230bn, contributed at least $132m to the fight – more than any other donor. The runner-up was former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who gave more than $48m. Millions more were donated by executives from Palantir, DoorDash, Stripe and Reddit, along with prominent venture capitalists. All told, Silicon Valley’s elite raised nearly $425m…
Lawmakers are escalating national security oversight into whether vital American semiconductor technology or policy decisions were compromised through personal relationships. Congressional leaders fear that interactions with an identified intelligence operative could have influenced lobbying efforts against chip export limits or granted unauthorized access to advanced hardware. The inquiry puts substantial pressure on the chipmaker's corporate governance amid existing geopolitical tensions over artificial intellig…
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