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Tech investor Ron Conway says California’s proposed wealth tax must be kept ‘off the ballot’

Famed Silicon Valley investor Ron Conway says he wants to kill California’s proposed wealth tax now.

“Our job is to get Gavin to negotiate this so that it doesn’t get to the ballot. So, maybe they don’t get the signatures,” Conway told Jack Altman during an episode of Altman’s “Untapped” podcast that was posted on Wednesday.

Conway, the founder of SV Angel and known as “The Godfather of Silicon Valley,” said that if the proposed wealth tax reaches the ballot, it “could” pass.

A recent UC Berkeley Citrin Center for Public Opinion Research-Politico poll found that support was hovering around 50%, within the margin of error of potential failure, though it is still very early in the process.

Major names like Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page have already rushed to move assets out of California, the state home to the most billionaires. If passed, California residents with a net worth of over $1.1 billion would face a one-time tax totalling 5% of their assets. Supporters of the initiative are still gathering signatures ahead of a June deadline.

Conway said Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is publicly opposed to the wealth tax initiative, is aligned with the efforts. Conway said one way to give Newsom bargaining power is by supporting the three competing ballot initiatives, which would effectively neuter the proposed wealth tax.

Brin, Stripe cofounder Patrick Collison, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and others have poured over $44 million into “Building a Better California,” a political action committee that is pushing the three competing anti-wealth tax ballot measures. In November, Conway donated $100,000 to “Stop the Squeeze,” another group that is opposed to the proposed tax.

Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen once called Conway “the human router,” a nickname he told Altman that he considers a compliment. Conway has been a fixture in tech for decades, making early bets on Google, Facebook, and other companies. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Jack’s brother, credited Conway with helping him hold OpenAI together during his brief ouster in 2023.

Conway also told Jack Altman that their interview could not run late, because that night he had courtside seats at the Golden State Warriors game next to House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul.

“We must keep this off the ballot,” Conway said. “So a whole bunch of work has to happen for that.”




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Used Tesla prices have soared since the end of the $7,500 tax credit, even as other EVs get cheaper

  • Used Tesla prices are rising as the secondhand EV market booms following the end of the $7,500 tax credit.
  • That’s a relief for Tesla owners, who have seen resale prices plunge in the past few years.
  • The Model S and X saw the largest price hikes. Elon Musk said Tesla would discontinue them to build its Optimus robots.

The market for used Teslas is heating up.

A booming secondhand EV market is pushing used Tesla prices up even as other electric vehicles get cheaper.

The average price of a used Tesla has climbed 4.3% since the end of the $7,500 tax credit for new electric vehicles in September, according to data from used car seller iSeeCars.

The two used EVs with the largest rise in prices were Tesla’s luxury Model S and X vehicles. Musk announced in January that both models would be discontinued in the coming months to make room for the company’s Optimus robot.

The spike comes as other used EVs get cheaper. The average price of used non-Tesla EVs fell 3.6% between September and January, per iSeeCars data. The exception was the Porsche Taycan, which was the only non-Tesla model to see used prices rise.

With the auto industry in the grip of an EV winter as prices soar and automakers cancel new models after the end of the tax credit, electric vehicle buyers are turning to the used-car market.

Sales of used battery-powered vehicles surged 21% in January from the previous year, per data from Cox Automotive, even as sales of new EVs fell nearly 30%.

That’s good news for Tesla. The brand dominates the used EV market in the US, with used Teslas outselling Audis, the second-largest retailer, by more than 10,000 vehicles in January, per Cox figures.

It’s also a relief for Tesla owners, who have seen their resale values collapse in recent years.

Used Tesla prices have been in freefall since 2022 and hit new lows last year amid backlash over CEO Elon Musk gutting government spending through his role at DOGE, which he has since left.

Tesla fans disappointed that the company never made its long-promised $25,000 EV do have a consolation prize — a secondhand Model 3 now sells for an average price of $25,700.




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See the list of California’s 200-plus billionaires who could be hit by the proposed wealth tax

California has a lot of billionaires, more than any other state and more than most countries. So a proposed wealth tax on its billionaires could be a windfall, if they stick around.

Under the Billionaire Tax Act, California residents worth over $1 billion would face a one-time tax totaling 5% of their assets.

If the tax plan receives enough signatures, it will appear on the ballot in November and, if passed, would apply retroactively to billionaires living in the state as of January 1. The tax would be due in 2027, with the option to spread the payment out over five years, with interest.

The idea has drawn sharp reactions from lawmakers and business leaders.

Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin moved entities tied to them out of the state last month just ahead of the deadline, Business Insider first reported.

Nvidia CEO and billionaire Jensen Huang said he was “perfectly fine” with the tax. Palmer Luckey, the billionaire founder of defense tech startup Anduril, said it would force companies to “immediately pivot into profit obsession over mission or long-term sustainability.”

Critics of the tax have warned it will encourage ultrawealthy residents to flee the state and hurt California’s economy.

As of January 1, there were 214 billionaires in California, according to Forbes data compiled by Americans for Tax Fairness, a group that advocates for higher taxes.

Below is the full list of billionaires in California. Names with asterisks have recently moved at least some of their business entities out of the state.

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Ayelet Sheffey

What Jensen Huang, and Larry Page’s reactions to the California wealth tax reveal

It’s a classic fight-or-flight response — with a billionaire’s twist.

A proposed wealth tax in California prompted the state’s resident billionaires to consider whether they wanted to continue their residency if the one-time 5% tax is approved.

Their reactions, said CFP professional Don Hilario, who works with financial planning clients in California, boil down to risk tolerance.

The tax, as proposed, would only apply to assets in the state during the 2026 tax year. Google’s billionaire cofounder, Larry Page, moved some of his assets out of California ahead of the January 1, 2026, deadline to avoid facing the tax, Business Insider first reported. Meanwhile, Nvidia’s billionaire CEO Jensen Huang said he has “not even thought about it once.”

“We chose to live in Silicon Valley, and whatever taxes they would like to apply, so be it,” Huang told Bloomberg TV’s Ed Ludlow. “I’m perfectly fine with it.”

Hilario, whose financial planning clients include individuals in Big Tech, said that the lingering uncertainty of the tax can trigger a need for certainty and autonomy.

“People who want to have a greater sense of control will do the Larry Page route,” he said, “versus people who have the temperament to endure will take Jensen’s route.”

Hilario described a hypothetical scenario in which individuals with high net worths are considering purchasing a home. In a period where the economy and interest rates are uncertain, do you want to put the lion’s share of your expenses toward the home in the event that rates will be higher in the future, or do you hold out and continue accumulating your wealth in the event that economic conditions improve?

“That’s the same type of emotions that exist with this tax bill because the fear of not taking any action is unsettling,” Hilario said.

The proposal, put forth by the union SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West to offset potential budget cuts to healthcare and education, is far from being implemented — it would require 870,000 signatures to make it onto the November 2026 ballot.

The SEIU said in its proposal that the concentration of billionaire wealth in California makes the state “uniquely positioned to address both the well-documented crisis of wealth inequality in the United States and the emerging and interrelated crises the state faces” with the budget cuts.

In addition to Huang and Page, other billionaires are voicing their opinions on the proposed wealth tax. LinkedIn’s cofounder, Reid Hoffman, wrote in a post on X that the proposal has “massive flaws.”

“Poorly designed taxes incentivize avoidance, capital flight, and distortions that ultimately raise less revenue,” he said.

Alex Spiro, an attorney who has previously represented billionaires, wrote in a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom that his clients would “permanently relocate” if the tax were to become law. Hilario said that the significant uncertainty surrounding the proposal, including how assets will be valued and whether the tax would change over time, likely forced billionaires to decide how risk-averse they really are.

“I still think ultimately it’s unclear. And I think when it’s unclear, it’ll make people, in this case, investors, be more cautious and defensive,” Hilario said. “And then a big part of it is, how do we respond emotionally? I think whether you’re taking early action or enduring, you do want to gather information and avoid making a decision that would ultimately be irreversible.”




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Larry Page is officially moving business out of California ahead of a proposed billionaire’s tax

Billionaire Larry Page is peacing out of California.

The Google cofounder has cut ties between California and many of his assets that risked exposing him to a proposed new wealth tax in the state, meeting an end-of-2025 deadline, according to filings reviewed by Business Insider.

Page’s family office, Koop, was converted out of California in late December and incorporated in Delaware, per filings with both states. Page converted several other entities to Delaware, including Flu Lab LLC — a vehicle he has used to fund research on tackling influenza and lists its principal office address in Nevada — and another entity named One Aero, which has funded his flying car ventures and lists its principal office address in Florida.

A filing was also made to convert Dynatomics, LLC from California to Delaware with a new principal address in Keller, Texas. Page launched Dynatomics, a new startup focused on applying AI to aircraft manufacturing, in 2023, Business Insider previously reported. A source close to Page said that the team, run by Chris Anderson, continues to work out of California.

Anderson and representatives for Page’s family office did not respond to requests for comment.

The New York Times reported in December that Page had told people he was considering moving to Florida because of a proposed ballot measure that would tax the state’s wealthiest residents. The proposal, if passed successfully, would mean that any California resident worth more than $1 billion would be taxed 5% of their assets.

Under California law, residency is determined by the nature of a person’s ties to the state, with factors such as the time spent in the state and the maintenance of substantial business ties taken into account. If the ballot measure is approved in November, it would take effect retroactively for residents living in California as of January 1, 2026.

A source close to Page said the Google cofounder had already left the state. Whether Page’s move is temporary could not be learned.

Page is ranked the second-richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Page’s family converts other entities to Delaware

Besides his family office and funding vehicles, Page converted out an LLC that Business Insider previously identified as being used to purchase islands in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, from California to Delaware, with a new address listed in Florida.

A separate LLC Page used to purchase an Island in Fiji was also converted out to Delaware.

Page’s wife, the scientist Lucinda Southworth, founded a marine-conservation charity named Oceankind. Filings show that Oceankind converted out of California to Delaware in December.

Delaware has become a popular state for businesses to incorporate due to its favorable tax structure, privacy, and its home to a court system specifically designed to handle corporate disputes. The state does not require LLCs to disclose the names and addresses of directors when incorporating, providing them with an extra layer of privacy.

Privacy is especially important to Page, whose family office is shrouded in a level of secrecy unparalleled by most and carefully managed by its CEO, Wayne Osborne.

Cristina Rosado, an attorney who handles many of Page and Southworth’s assets, signed several of the California filings.

Page incorporated three entities in Florida last year, as previously reported by The New York Times. A Koop LLC was incorporated in Florida in January 2025, per filings reviewed by Business Insider. It could not be confirmed if it belongs to Page.

California’s billionaire tax proposal

The California billionaire tax proposal faced some opposition from leaders in venture capital and politics. In a post on X in December, venture capitalist Vinod Khosla said the proposed measure would mean California would lose its most important taxpayers and “net off much worse.”

“Long term damage unless legislature bans wealth taxes,” he added. “Easier to equalize taxes on work income and capital gains at the national level.

Matt Mahan, Democratic mayor of San Jose, California, on Monday described the tax as “a political plan that will sink California’s innovation economy.”

White House AI czar David Sacks has criticized the proposal and said it will backfire. He has also said he believes Miami and Austin will overtake New York and San Francisco for finance and tech, respectively. He announced this month that his venture capital firm, Craft Ventures, had opened an office in Austin.

Last month, celebrity lawyer Alex Spiro wrote a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, warning that the proposed billionaire tax would “trigger an exodus of capital and innovation from California,” Business Insider previously reported.

Have something to share? Contact this reporter via email at hlangley@businessinsider.com or Signal at hughlangley.01. Use a personal email address and a non-work device; here’s our guide to sharing information securely.




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Business leaders from Palmer Luckey to David Sacks react to California’s proposed billionaire tax

  • Bill Ackman, Palmer Luckey, Garry Tan, and more are sharing their opinions on a California wealth tax proposal.
  • State labor groups proposed a 5% tax for California residents whose assets exceed $1 billion.
  • Ackman called for a “fairer tax system”; Tan wrote that he would consider opening Y Combinator programs in other cities.

Some of the biggest names in business are speaking up about California’s billionaire tax proposal.

The measure proposed a one-time 5% tax for California residents whose assets exceed $1 billion. If the proposal receives enough signatures, it would appear on the state ballot in November.

If the proposal passes, the tax would apply retroactively to all California residents as of January 1, 2026.

Proposed by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West labor union, the bill attempts to fill a projected multibillion-dollar state budget deficit.

California is home to some of the biggest companies — in both value and prestige — in the US. The state boasts Hollywood and Silicon Valley, although some of the industries’ key players have relocated.

In a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom obtained by Business Insider, attorney Alex Spiro wrote that his clients would “permanently relocate” if the tax becomes law. Spiro has previously represented billionaires and celebrities.

Here’s how several business leaders and politicians have reacted to the tax proposal:

Bill Ackman

Bill Ackman wrote in favor of a “fairer tax system,” but not a wealth tax.

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

The billionaire CEO of Pershing Square Holdings wrote Monday on X that he was “opposed to wealth taxes because they effectively represent an expropriation of private property,” which can have “unintended and negative consequences.”

However, he said he’s in favor of a “fairer tax system.”

For example, Ackman wrote that an individual who had amassed a billion dollars or more in wealth could pay no personal income tax by living off loans secured by stock in their company. A change in the tax code could fix that problem, he wrote.

“One shouldn’t be able to live and spend like a billionaire and pay no tax,” Ackman wrote.

As for California’s “budget problems,” Ackman wrote that the issue wasn’t a lack of tax revenue — it was about “how the money is being spent.”

David Sacks


White House crypto czar David Sacks is pictured.

David Sacks analogized California’s tax increases to a frog in boiling water.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The White House AI and crypto czar took aim at California’s government in an X post on Sunday.

Red states like Texas and Florida don’t employ state income taxes, let alone wealth taxes, Sacks wrote. “Democrats steal everything, then blame job creators for their ‘greed,'” he wrote.

Sacks said in an October episode of the “All-In” podcast, which he cohosts, that a wealth tax “always backfires,” because tax benefits are outweighed by wealthy residents leaving.

Sacks threatened to leave the state, analogizing steady tax increases to boiling a frog on the podcast.

“I’m going to have to jump out of the pot with this,” he said.

Ro Khanna


Representative Ro Khanna is pictured.

Ro Khanna said Nvidia would be built all over again in California, even with the wealth tax.

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

The Congressman for California’s 17th district, which covers much of Silicon Valley, said that the proposal was “good for American innovation.”

After receiving thousands of comments on a Friday post bidding a sarcastic goodbye to those threatening to leave the state, Khanna explained his support in a seven-paragraph X post on Saturday.

He wrote that Nvidia would be built all over again, even with the wealth tax.

“Jensen [Huang] wasn’t thinking I won’t start this company because I may have to one day pay a 1% tax on my billions,” Khanna wrote. “He built here because the talent is here.”

Khanna argued that innovation would be further stifled by the “political dysfunction and social unrest” that comes with wide wealth gaps.

In a statement to Business Insider, Sarah Drory, a spokesperson for Rep. Khanna, wrote that the representative has “always supported a modest wealth tax on billionaires to deal with staggering inequality and to make sure people have healthcare.”

“He has advocated for common sense workarounds for startup founders whose companies are not profitable and who have illiquid stock,” Drory wrote.

Palmer Luckey


Palmer Luckey is pictured.

Palmer Luckey wrote that the wealth tax would force startups to pivot to profit.

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

The Oculus founder and Anduril cofounder wrote in a Sunday X post that the tax would force founders to “sell huge chunks of our companies.”

Luckey wrote that he made money from Oculus — which he sold to Facebook in 2014 — and paid millions in taxes on it. Then he used the “remainder” to start Anduril, he wrote.

“Now me and my cofounders have to somehow come up with billions of dollars in cash,” Luckey wrote.

Luckey also wrote that the policy made no provision for companies that funnel revenue back to research and development, rather than paying cash incomes sizable enough to cover the tax.

“You are effectively forcing companies to immediately pivot into profit obsession over mission or long-term sustainability,” he wrote.

Garry Tan


Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan is pictured.

Garry Tan wrote that the wealth tax would “kill little tech in California.”

Seb Daly/Web Summit via Getty Images

The CEO of startup accelerator Y Combinator wrote in a Saturday X post that the tax would “kill little tech in California.”

Unicorn startup founders become a “paper billionaire” — as in, having cash on hand — around the $5 billion valuation point, Tan wrote.

The proposed tax is on unrealized gains, meaning founders would be put on the line even before their wealth is liquid, Tan wrote.

If the tax passed, Tan wrote that Y Combinator would consider opening Austin or Cambridge programs.

Bernie Sanders


Senator Bernie Sanders is pictured.

Bernie Sanders wrote in support of wealth taxes on X.

Heather Diehl/Getty Images

The Vermont senator has long been a proponent of taxes on the wealthy, introducing a bill in 2019 that aimed to halve the wealth of billionaires over a 15-year period.

While Sanders didn’t explicitly comment on the California proposal, he posted Monday on X broadly supporting wealth taxes.

“We can respect innovation & entrepreneurship, but we cannot respect the extraordinary greed that now exists,” Sanders wrote. “We need a wealth tax.”

Elon Musk


Elon Musk at the US-Saudi Investment Forum at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, on November 19, 2025.

Elon Musk wrote that he was a “maker,” not a “taker.”

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

The Tesla CEO reposted another user’s X post that commented on the tax, saying that his stocks weren’t wealth.

Musk wrote in his Tuesday post that his “wealth” was mostly tied up in Tesla and SpaceX shares.

“This means my ‘wealth’ can only increase due to producing more products and services for the public,” he wrote.

While not directly commenting on the California tax, Musk wrote that he was a “maker,” unlike “taker” politicians like Sanders.

Musk said in 2020 that he had moved from California to Texas.

Gavin Newsom


California governor Gavin Newsom is pictured.

Gavin Newsom said that California had to stay competitive with other states.

David Dee Delgado/Getty Images for The New York Times

The governor of California has spoken against the wealth tax. At The New York Times’ Dealbook conference in December, Newsom said that California had to stay competitive with other states.

“People of that status, they already have two or three homes outside the state,” he said. “You’ve got to be pragmatic about it.”

If the tax passes as a ballot measure, Newsom would not have the ability to veto it.




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Read the letter celebrity lawyer Alex Spiro wrote to Gavin Newsom, warning that his clients will ‘permanently relocate’ if California wealth tax passes

A proposed billionaire tax in California has the wealthy threatening to flee, according to a letter written by power lawyer Alex Spiro to Gov. Gavin Newsom.

In a December 11 letter that was obtained by Business Insider, Spiro lays out his opposition to the proposed tax on behalf of his clients, whom he calls “California residents who would be subject to the proposed Billionaire Tax Act.”

“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.”

The measure proposes that California residents with assets exceeding $1 billion be subject to a one-time 5% tax on the value of their assets. If the proposal receives enough signatures, it will appear on the state ballot in November 2026. If passed, it would apply retroactively to all California residents as of January 1, 2026.

While Newsom has said he is against the tax and would “fight” it, he would not have the ability to veto it if it were to pass as a ballot measure.

Several wealthy Californians, including venture capitalist Peter Thiel and Google cofounder Larry Page, have considered shrinking their presence in California, according to a New York Times report. Representatives for Page and Thiel did not respond to Business Insider when asked if they were represented by Spiro.

Over the weekend, billionaire Palmer Luckey took to X to voice his opposition to the measure.

“I made my money from my first company, paid hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes on it,” the Anduril cofounder wrote. “Now me and my cofounders have to somehow come up with billions of dollars in cash.”

While it’s not clear which clients the lawyer was referencing in his letter to Newsom, Spiro’s client roster in the past has included billionaires and A-listers. He has previously represented Kim Kardashian, Jay-Z, and Elon Musk.

Read the full letter below:

Re: Constitutional Concerns Regarding Proposed Billionaire Tax Act
Dear Governor Newsom:
I represent California residents who would be subject to the proposed Billionaire Tax Act if it qualifies for the November 2026 ballot. I write to urge you to work to prevent this initiative from moving forward. The Act has serious legal problems and would cause significant economic damage to California and the broader economy.
First, and most importantly, the Act would be unconstitutional. Although the Act purports to be a tax, it is in reality an uncompensated confiscation of property. The Act imposes a 5% levy on total accumulated wealth, including illiquid assets that generate no income. That is in substance a taking without just compensation. As the Supreme Court explained in Armstrong v. United States, the government cannot force “some people alone to bear public burdens which, in all fairness and justice, should be borne by the public as a whole.” 364 U.S. 40, 49 (1960). The Act concentrates an extraordinary burden on a small group to solve a general revenue problem— exactly what the Constitution prohibits.
Second, for the people who relocate from California in 2026 before the November election, the Act would tax them after they have become citizens of other States and without any ability to vote on the measure. The Supreme Court has held that retroactive taxation cannot be “harsh and oppressive.” United States v. Carlton, 512 U.S. 26, 30 (1994). A 5% levy on total net worth imposed on former residents who departed before the law was even enacted clearly meets that definition.
Third, the Act’s unprecedented novelty makes it especially vulnerable to a legal challenge. California has never imposed a wealth tax, much less one that reaches former residents and that is targeted at a small group of citizens. The Supreme Court closely scrutinizes unprecedented exercises of government power precisely because they lack historical precedent. See Biden v. Nebraska, 600 U.S. 477, 505 (2023). In fact, it has not hesitated to invalidate the retroactive application of new taxes, even for far less extreme measures. See Blodgett v. Holden, 275 U.S. 142 (1927). There can be no doubt that the current Supreme Court would carefully evaluate a law so out of step with the American legal tradition.
From an economic perspective, the Act creates two serious problems. First, it will trigger an exodus of capital and innovation from California. Our clients have made clear they will permanently relocate if subjected to this tax. They are not alone. See California’s wealth-tax test: Have voters finally found a policy that the state’s inherent economic strengths can’t overcome?, Wash. Post (Nov. 17, 2025) (opinion) (describing the tax as “almost tailor-made to drive most Silicon Valley tech companies to Austin, Texas”). In other words, by passing this proposal California would exchange a one-time windfall for the permanent loss of billions in annual income taxes, capital gains taxes, property taxes, and economic activity. The state’s most economically productive residents would take their businesses, jobs, and charitable giving with them. Second, the Act will force destructive asset sales. Our clients hold equity stakes in operating businesses, venture capital funds, and real estate. Paying a 5% wealth tax would require massive forced liquidations, depressing asset values and triggering market instability that would harm ordinary investors whose retirement accounts hold these same investments.
Our clients are prepared to mount a vigorous constitutional challenge if this measure advances. Litigation would be protracted and expensive, and it would generate sustained negative attention to California’s business climate. The prudent course is to prevent this constitutionally defective measure from reaching the ballot. We respectfully ask that you discourage signature gathering, oppose qualification, and if necessary, campaign against passage.
Our clients prefer to remain in California and continue contributing to the state’s economy and civic life. But they will not remain if subjected to an unconstitutional confiscation of their wealth. We hope this can be resolved through political channels rather than through years of contentious litigation.
Respectfully,
Alex Spiro




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