California's tech royalty built fortunes that made the state rich.
Now Sacramento politicians are watching those fortunes flee faster than they ever imagined.
And Sergey Brin and Larry Page join California billionaire exodus over 5% wealth tax.
Sergey Brin and Larry Page Move Billions in California Exodus Before Wealth Tax
Sergey Brin terminated or relocated 15 California limited liability companies in the 10 days before Christmas.
Seven of those entities managing his superyacht and private terminal at San Jose International Airport got re-registered in Nevada.
His Google co-founder Larry Page beat him to the exits by moving more than 45 California LLCs out of state or making them inactive.
A trust connected to Page dropped $71.9 million on a Miami mansion this past week.
Both billionaires converted T-Rex LLC, their joint investment vehicle they'd managed from Palo Alto since 2006, into a Nevada-based Delaware entity on Christmas Eve.
The timing wasn't coincidental.
California's proposed Billionaire Tax Act would slap a one-time 5% tax on anyone worth over $1 billion living in the state as of January 1, 2026.
Brin and Page have a combined net worth exceeding $500 billion.
That tax bill would run into tens of billions of dollars.
Chamath Palihapitiya Warns California Lost $1 Trillion in Billionaire Exodus
Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya isn't mincing words about what's happening.
He said California had $2 trillion in billionaire wealth just weeks ago.
Now half of that is gone.
"$700 billion in billionaire wealth has left California in the last month," Palihapitiya wrote on X.
"The $2 trillion of California wealth they expected to tax is now down to $1.3 trillion and falling quickly."
The exodus is taking more than just money.
Those billionaires brought income tax revenue, sales tax revenue, real estate tax revenue, and thousands of high-paying jobs for their staffs.
"California billionaires were reliable taxpayers," Palihapitiya explained.
"They were the sheep you could shear forever."
"Now California will lose this revenue source forever."
Celebrity attorney Alex Spiro fired off a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom in December warning him what was coming.
"It will trigger an exodus of capital and innovation from California," Spiro wrote.
"Our clients have made clear they will permanently relocate if subjected to this tax."
Spiro represents multiple California billionaires who'd rather leave than pay what amounts to property seizure disguised as taxation.
Peter Thiel opened a Thiel Capital office in Miami.
Trump's AI czar David Sacks signed a lease for office space in Austin.
And the Google founders who built their company in a Menlo Park garage are cutting their California ties after making the state billions.
SEIU Billionaire Tax Act Driving Silicon Valley Exodus to Florida and Texas
The Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West is pushing the ballot initiative.
Union officials claim the roughly 200 California billionaires should help fund healthcare and offset federal budget cuts.
They need about 870,000 signatures to get the measure on November's ballot.
If voters approve it, the tax applies retroactively to January 1, 2026.
That retroactive clause is what sent billionaires racing to relocate before year-end.
California law determines residency based on time spent in the state and substantial business dealings.
Anyone who wanted to dodge the tax needed their business entities moved and proof they'd left California by December 31.
Even Newsom opposes the wealth tax.
He called it "not pragmatic" and said California needs to stay competitive with other states.
"People of that status, they already have two or three homes outside the state," Newsom admitted.
But as a ballot initiative, he can't veto it even if it passes.
The political calculus has Democrats trapped.
They depend on billionaire wealth to fund California's massive budget.
These tech founders paid California's 13.3% income tax year after year without complaint.
Now a union-backed scheme to squeeze them for one massive payment is destroying the state's tax base.
Palihapitiya warned what comes next.
"Unless this ballot initiative is pulled, we will not stop the billionaire exodus," he wrote.
"With no rich people left in California, the middle class will have to foot the bill."
Sources:
- Ashley Carnahan, "Google co-founder Sergey Brin joins California exodus: report," Fox Business, January 12, 2026.
- Various Authors, "Google co-founders may be pulling out of California," The New York Times, January 11, 2026.
- Chamath Palihapitiya, Post on X, January 11, 2026.
- Various Authors, "California wealth tax proposal hemorrhages $1T as billionaires flee," Fox Business, January 11, 2026.
- Various Authors, "Read the letter celebrity lawyer Alex Spiro wrote to Gavin Newsom," Business Insider, December 29, 2025.