By Daniel Farr
Publication Date: 2026-03-26 02:45:00
A high-stakes battle is brewing over California’s proposed “billionaire tax,” with Silicon Valley heavyweights already pouring millions into efforts to stop it.
Sergey Brin, the billionaire co-founder of Google, has committed roughly $45 million to a group opposing the measure called Building a Better California, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In total, Building a Better CA has raised about $80 million to fight the tax — funding campaigns, ads and ballot efforts.
The initiative would impose a one-time 5% tax on individuals worth more than $1 billion, with supporters arguing the money would fund health care and other public programs.
Backers of the measure, led by labor leader Dave Regan, turned to the ballot after similar wealth tax proposals stalled in the Legislature.
