Google cofounder Sergey Brin is now one of several Silicon Valley leaders backing proposed ballot measures that would essentially undercut the proposed billionaire tax in California. Brin is also one of several billionaires who've moved out of the Golden State with the potential tax looming.
Building a Better California
Brin is helping finance a group called Building a Better California. That group is supporting numerous potential ballot measures.
Officially, the group told SAN that it has "not taken a position on the wealth tax."
The group has focused on housing affordability, including the Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026, which it said will fund more than 40,000 affordable homes for lower-income households. They're also backing the California Middle-Class Homeownership and Family Home Construction Act, which will make housing more affordable for middle-class families.
It's also backing three potential ballot measures that clearly take aim at portions of the potential billionaire tax.
One of those is the California Prohibit Exceptions to State Minimum Guarantee for Education Funding Amendment. That would bar new tax increases from circumventing a 1988 proposition that dictates how much of California's tax revenue must be spent on education.
Much of the planned revenue from the proposed billionaire tax would go towards state education coffers.
Another measure backed by Building a Better California would restrict the state's ability to impose retroactive taxes starting in 2026. It would bar California from creating new state taxes on personal property, including financial assets like retirement accounts, stocks, bonds, business interests and intellectual property.
A third proposal would require a pre-election audit of any program funded by a new statewide special tax (like the billionaire tax) and mandate audits every four years for special taxes enacted after Jan. 1, 2026. It would also bar new state taxes from being structured to avoid the voter-approved spending limit.
Like the proposed billionaire tax, all three of these proposals need enough signatures to get on the ballot.
Billionaire backing
The group received a $20 million donation from Brin last month.
The Wall Street Journal reports that eight other executives and founders have donated another $15 million.
Former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt and venture capitalist Michael Moritz have each donated $2 million. The two have a combined net worth of more than $60 billion.
It's unclear how much Building a Better California plans to spend supporting these initiatives, or whether they'll be able to gather enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.
Billionaire tax proposal
The California Billionaire Tax Act was proposed by Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW).
It would require anyone in the state with a net worth of over $1 billion to pay a one-time 5% tax on their net worth, payable over five years.
The idea came out following President Donald Trump's so-called Big Beautiful Bill last year, which created a large shortfall in California's medical ledger.
Both supporters and detractors have made their voices heard.
Naturally, among those detractors are the state's many billionaires. Several of whom, including Brin and Mark Zuckerberg, have fled the state. The state's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, split with progressives on the issue and has come out adamantly against the measure.
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