Brin Pumps $102 Million into Fighting California Billionaire Wealth Tax

Google co-founder Sergey Brin has spent over $100 million backing a group that aims to stop California's proposed billionaire wealth tax. The measure, which would impose a one-time tax on billionaires' wealth in the state, is set to appear on the November ballot as Proposition 40.

The billionaire-backed initiative, Building a Better California, is also pumping at least $5 million into opposing efforts. Debru Carthan, vice president of Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, called Brin's actions 'shameful', stating that billionaires already pay lower tax rates than working families.

Economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman estimated that between 2019 and 2025, California's billionaires paid an average of just 0.26% of their wealth each year in state income taxes. For the four wealthiest Californians, including Brin, Larry Page, Mark Zuckerberg, and others, the effective burden was as low as 0.07% annually.