Schmidt vs Brin: Google Co-Founders Clash Over Billionaire Tax Campaign

Google's co-founders Eric Schmidt and Sergey Brin are at odds over how to spend millions of dollars contributed to an anti-tax coalition. The $100 million campaign aims to defeat California's billionaire tax, but despite the efforts, the state's Democratic Party has endorsed the measure.

Brin is the majority contributor to Building a Better California, which also received funds from venture capitalist John Doerr and Stripe CEO Patrick Collison. However, Schmidt has expressed frustration with the coalition's performance, particularly after it failed to prevent Democrats from endorsing Proposition 40.

The billionaire tax would impose a one-time 5% tax on Californians worth over $1 billion as of January 2026, affecting only a few hundred people but generating tens of billions of dollars. Other notable billionaires have publicly opposed the proposition, including Mark Cuban and Palmer Luckey.