this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2026
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A Google founder has more than doubled his financial contribution to the fight against a proposed wealth tax in California. New filings with the state show that former Alphabet president Sergey Brin donated $25m to a Super Pac dedicated to blocking the tax on top of $20m he had already given.

Brin is not alone among Google’s top brass in upping his financial stake in the campaign against the ballot proposal. The company’s former CEO Eric Schmidt donated $1.02m, adding to a previous $2m contribution.

The tech titans are battling the California Billionaire Tax act, often referred to simply as the billionaire tax. It’s a proposed ballot measure that would require any California resident worth more than $1bn to pay a one-off, 5% tax on their assets to help cover education, food assistance and healthcare programs in the state. It’s sponsored by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, and is still in the signature-gathering phase.

If the measure reaches the ballot and gains voters’ approval, the tax would apply to billionaires based on their residency as of 1 January 2026. For Brin, worth about $247bn, the bill would likely be upwards of $12bn. That stipulation appears to have caused him and several other billionaires to leave California at the end of last year. Brin relocated to a $42m estate on the north-eastern shore of Lake Tahoe in Nevada, and his Pac donations show Reno as his address. Schmidt’s filings show his address as West Hollywood.

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[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 3 points 55 minutes ago
[–] mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 16 points 2 hours ago

smells like somebody doesn't want to pay his fair share

[–] ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 10 points 4 hours ago

A retroactive tax is pretty bullshit.

It being a one time tax with a "if you lived here 1-1-26" is also idiotic. The billionaires wouldn't even pay. It'd just be tied up in courts for like the next 20 years.

Not beginning until you hit a billion dollars is also stupid.

It needs to start at a much lower net worth, be every fucking year, not be retroactive to a single date on the calendar that happened before the vote (cause that really is bullshit to do), and be on some sort of increasing percentage instead of just a flat 5.

[–] sturmblast@lemmy.world 29 points 7 hours ago (4 children)

Pay $45m. Trying to not be taxed....

[–] Stern@lemmy.world 6 points 2 hours ago

45 milly to not pay 12 billy seems reasonable.

[–] Cantaloupe@lemmy.fedioasis.cc 3 points 2 hours ago

That's nothing to them, it's about the money in the long run.

[–] IronBird@lemmy.world 3 points 6 hours ago

tbf, it's staple of the grifter kickback scheme. money is bullshit, in the higher circles you basically just move your $ pile around inbetween a group of trusted like-minded individuals to minimize tax burden.

[–] Hazmatastic@lemmy.world 3 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (3 children)

Imagine how ridiculous the taxes have to be for $45M to be preferable

Edit: Was more of a comment on the inconceivable amount of money these fucks must be getting paid for 45 mil to be a drop in the bucket. Please don't mistake my disgust for their tax amount as a justification for their actions. Imagine how much good that money could do. Instead it sits in the pockets of the top 0.01% while the only money they pay is to other corrupt fucks who keep them from paying more. The whole idea would be laughable for its logic if it wasn't so damn cruel in action.

[–] ChaoticEntropy@feddit.uk 12 points 7 hours ago

*~~ridiculous~~ proportionate

When you have an unfathomable amount of money, your taxes look pretty wild whatever they are.

Ridiculous? I consider it my civic duty to pay tax. I’m happy paying tax. I just with that those with the broadest shoulders would pay the same % as I do.

Does anybody need to be worth $247B? Is a fucking sickness is what it is. I literally can’t fathom it. I’m 42 give me £500k right now and I quit work and just go enjoy what’s left of my life.

[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 3 points 6 hours ago

You think these people don’t have enough money?

[–] the_armchair_potato@lemmy.world 9 points 6 hours ago

Billionaires should not be allowed to exist, period!!

[–] Scrollone@feddit.it 6 points 6 hours ago

Damn his wig looks bad.

[–] dogslayeggs@lemmy.world 22 points 8 hours ago

Imagine being so rich that, not only could you drop $45M without even thinking about it, and not only could you just move to a new $42M house without thinking about it, but you would still be worth $235 BILLION after losing 12 billion dollars... and being angry!

[–] Elroc@lemmus.org 21 points 8 hours ago (1 children)
[–] SuspciousCarrot78@lemmy.world 2 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) (3 children)

Can we get one good one though? There has to be one good billionaire, somewhere, by sheer statistical folly. Narwhals exit. Bumblebees fly. Now complete the impossible trifecta.

[–] CaptPretentious@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

You only become a billionaire by exploiting people. Like a lot of people. You might as well say "there has to be at least one good serial killer"

[–] Shelena@feddit.nl 7 points 7 hours ago

I think you have to be evil to become a billionaire. Nobody by themselves contributes something to society that is worth billions. So they are taking more than they contribute and are apparently willing to do so and disadvantage other people. This is evil. That is why there are no good billionaires.

Also, if by some extreme coincidence you become a billionaire by accident and if you are a good person, you would give it away for the benefit of society. So then you would not be a billionaire anymore.

[–] nialv7@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

There aren't that many billionaires.

[–] skisnow@lemmy.ca 35 points 10 hours ago

The fact that he's both willing and able to do this, is the one single biggest argument in favour of abolishing billionaires.

[–] skozzii@lemmy.ca 33 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Citizens United ruined America.

[–] Raiderkev@lemmy.world 6 points 8 hours ago (1 children)
[–] Pyotr@lemmy.world 3 points 6 hours ago

Is this a proposal for how much billionaires should be taxed? Because if so, I'm on board.

[–] thethrilloftime69@feddit.online 39 points 10 hours ago (2 children)

They'd rather pay to manipulate the tax code than pay taxes.

[–] pageflight@piefed.social 2 points 5 hours ago

So would I, but I'd like to pay to make it simpler and route more of it to education / universal healthcare.

[–] AdolfSchmitler@lemmy.world 7 points 8 hours ago

If they could pay an accountant $50k to avoid $20k in taxes that's a win for them

[–] dan1101@lemmy.world 35 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

Most billionaires are so anti-tax they would spend their entire fortune to keep from paying taxes.

[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 19 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Because it's not about the money as much as it is the principle of having to follow the same rules as everyone else.

[–] Zahille7@lemmy.world 6 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

My aunt and uncle bought a Tesla a few years back. Partially for the electric vehicle; partially for the fact that in California up until last summer, if you were driving an EV, you could use the carpool lane even if you were by yourself.

I remember my cousin just complaining complaining complaining that she'd have to use the other lanes like "everyone else" when she went to school, and that she'd have to wake up twenty minutes earlier to compensate for the traffic.

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[–] TrickDacy@lemmy.world 48 points 12 hours ago

The fact that he can afford to do that is the best possible case in favor of that tax.

[–] a4ng3l@lemmy.world 2 points 6 hours ago

And it’s only a one off… it’s crazy generous. I would advice for a recurrence of some sort.

[–] Mostly_Gristle@lemmy.world 37 points 13 hours ago
[–] 9point6@lemmy.world 69 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago) (2 children)

Dude is worth a quarter of a trillion

He can afford to spend 12.5bn on stopping this before he's losing money

Frankly I'd be campaigning on this if I was an advocating politician of the bill. "He is willing to burn this money rather than pay a fair share into public finances to benefit everyone"

[–] Ava@piefed.blahaj.zone 63 points 14 hours ago (7 children)

"The $45m he spent to fight this would've allowed us to renovate this school. The $12b he'd owe would let us renovate 100 schools. Or get X thousand of the homeless off the streets. Or fixed 10 million potholes."

Make his name responsible for those things not happening.

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[–] errer@lemmy.world 6 points 10 hours ago

He has already left the state to avoid the tax according to the article. So he’ll pay nothing even if it passes. I suspect he’s funding the measure simply because he doesn’t want this to start some sort of nationwide precedent.

[–] Boppel@feddit.org 119 points 15 hours ago (7 children)

there are no good billionaire. the whole concept of billionaire is utterly antisocial

[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 34 points 13 hours ago

It's also anti democratic. Giving a few people that much power, is 100% against democratic principles.
It is however perfectly in line with an oligarchy dictatorship.

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[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 81 points 15 hours ago (4 children)

This tax is stupid IMO, it shouldn't be one time, but 1% every year.
I'll take the 5% though, better than nothing.

[–] Wilco@lemmy.zip 53 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Once upon a time this guy would have paid 94% in federal taxes. The math would have literally worked against him ... he could pay workers more and give them benefits to lose his money or just lost the money in taxes.
This style tax scale is what got one guy elected FOUR TIMES as President of the US.

[–] teyrnon@sh.itjust.works 10 points 11 hours ago (4 children)

Yup, the first so much of his earnings would have been lower rates, after the amount surpasses thresholds, the rate increases on that part, reaching 90 some percent on obscene amounts.

They don't take wages now though, they get like stock options, then borrow against their stock holdings, borrowing more to pay off the old, never realizing a gain to pay taxes. As per Propublica's reporting.

[–] endlesseden@pyfedi.deep-rose.org 6 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

it's almost like their should be capital interest tax and loan resurgence limits, that require a federal application and limits on how it can be used (like home and auto loans are)

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[–] Fedizen@lemmy.world 16 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

Clearly has the money. If he doesn't like it maybe he should move to texas like the other greedy chuds who hate the state they live in.

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