Tech billionaires vastly outspend supporters on California wealth tax ballot measure

Opposing campaigns have raised $316.7 million to defeat the wealth tax and back countermeasures, while proponents raised $34.3 million primarily to place Proposition 40 on the ballot and rely on public events and digital outreach.

• •More than $351 million has been raised for the campaign regarding the proposed wealth tax ballot measure in California.
• •About 90% of the campaign money is being spent to defeat Proposition 40.
• •Proposition 40 would levy a one-time, 5% tax on many assets of California billionaires who lived in the state as of Jan. 1.
• •Propositions 41 and 42 are intertwined ballot initiatives designed to nullify Proposition 40 through tax law changes if either receives more votes.
• •The tax measure was crafted by Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West in response to federal healthcare funding reductions.
• •Supporters of the wealth tax raised $34.3 million, nearly all from the healthcare workers union.
• •Opponents of the wealth tax raised $316.7 million.
• •Google co-founder Sergey Brin donated more than $100 million to anti-wealth-tax efforts.
• •Eric Schmidt and L. John Doerr each contributed $40 million to oppose the wealth tax.
• •Meta created a new non-voting type of stock to allow Mark Zuckerberg to pay the proposed tax while retaining voting power and remaining in California for eight years.
• •In 2022, $463 million was spent on two gambling proposals in California, and both failed.