Brin and Tech Leaders Fund $300M Push to Stop California Asset Tax

Google co-founder Sergey Brin, DoorDash founder Tony Xu, and several other technology executives have poured more than $300 million into a campaign to defeat a California ballot measure. The effort targets Prop 40, a one-time 5 percent tax on the assets of individuals with wealth exceeding $1 billion. David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University who tracks state elections, identified this spending surge as the most expensive ballot fight in the state's history.

The financial disparity between the two sides is stark. The opposition has raised over $300 million, while supporters of the tax have collected only $32 million. The list of major donors includes Stripe co-founder Patrick Collison, Ripple co-executive chairman Chris Larsen, and venture capitalists John Doerr, Michael Moritz, and Vinod Khosla. Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg has not directly donated to the opposition, though his company's filings reveal he plans to move his primary residence out of the state to avoid the levy.

Voters face a deluge of conflicting information as the campaign intensifies. Brian Galle, an economics professor at the University of California at Berkeley who helped draft the proposal, noted that some mailers suggest the tax could apply to ordinary savings. He stated that these claims were not present in the original text. Ashley Craig, a volunteer for the pro-tax group Patriotic Millionaires, reports that many constituents believe the measure contains hidden clauses that would tax the general population. Any future modification to the tax structure would require a two-thirds majority in the state assembly.

The high cost of the opposition has drawn criticism from experts who view the spending as a barrier to democratic equality. Galle argued that the measure aims to balance democratic power, yet the billionaires are using their capital to prevent that balance from occurring. He cited the Supreme Court's Citizens United v FEC ruling in support of this view. Francesco Trebbi, a professor at Berkeley's Haas School of Business, described the contest as a battle between Brin and millions of Californians, noting that such asymmetry erodes public trust in the system.

The fight has also created friction within the Democratic Party. The state party endorses the tax, but Craig said the ground support has been limited. McCuan views the measure as a test of political alignment between progressives and moderates. Governor Gavin Newsom, who is considering a 2028 presidential run, opposes the tax. He called it poorly written and warned it could drive the state's billionaires, who hold an estimated $2.3 trillion in wealth, to other jurisdictions. Gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra and former congresswoman Katie Porter share Newsom's opposition.

Opponents have also secured backing for two additional ballot measures that could alter the tax's impact. One proposal bars new state taxes on personal property or those imposed retroactively. The other requires state auditors to review the financial effects of proposed taxes before a vote. If either measure wins more votes than Prop 40, it could effectively nullify the billionaire tax even if voters approve it.

A recent poll by the Public Policy Institute of California shows voters narrowly support the tax but also back the two protective measures. Mark Baldassare, the institute's statewide survey director, noted that only about a third of citizen initiatives pass, placing the burden of proof on the yes side. Suzane Jiminez, chief of staff at the SEIU health workers union which sponsored the measure, reported that 3,000 volunteers are actively knocking on doors. She said Senator Bernie Sanders and Congressman Ro Khanna have traveled the state to rally support.