The ballot initiative is still just a proposal: It has not yet received the 874,000 signatures required for it to be put to a vote by Californians in November, and the state’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, does not support it. Nevertheless, the initiative has threatened to drive the Silicon Valley billionaires out of the state.

Known as the “2026 Billionaire Tax Act,” the initiative proposes a one-time 5% wealth tax on California’s billionaires, payable over five years. 90% of the tax revenue would be used to offset the $100 billion (€85.7 billion) in budget cuts imposed by the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” the budget law that the United States Congress passed in July 2025, under the auspices of President Donald Trump. The remaining 10% would go to food assistance programs and public education, which is in a curiously dire situation for such a wealthy state.

The measure was introduced by the SEIU-UHW health care workers’ union, which hopes to raise $100 billion in tax revenue. According to Altrata, a wealth analytics firm cited by the Wall Street Journal, California had some 255 billionaires in 2024, more than any other state, and accounted for 22% of all American billionaires.

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