Another billionaire confirms California exit: Uber co-founder Kalanick
Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick said he moved to Texas in December, adding to the list of billionaires who left California ahead of a proposed wealth tax.
In an interview with technology show TBPN, Kalanick said he moved to Texas on December 18. He did not explain the reasoning behind the move, but suggested he was motivated to make it before the start of this year.
“I don’t know what’s so specific about Dec. 18, but let’s just say it’s before January,” he said in an interview Friday. “So I’m a primary resident of Texas.”
He also outlined plans to rename City Storage Systems — the parent company of a Los Angeles-based ghost kitchen operator — to Atoms, which focuses on robots.
Kalanick is among billionaires who have cut ties to California as debate over a proposed wealth tax intensifies. Late last year, some of California’s mega-rich opened new offices and bought more real estate in other states, and said they were considering moving.
California’s billionaires tax would apply to approximately 200 billionaires residing in the state starting January 1.
Under the law, Californians with more than $1 billion would pay a one-time 5 percent tax on their total wealth. The proposal would help fund health care, education and food aid.
It still needs enough signatures to make it to the November ballot and gain voter approval.
A website devoted to the proposed tax says it would be difficult for billionaires to evade.
“Their taxable estate includes worldwide assets; therefore, they cannot avoid tax by moving their assets out of California,” the website states.
The Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West is the union behind this law.
Proponents of the wealth tax face an uphill battle. Lawyers who work with billionaires have said they will challenge the law if it moves forward, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom opposes the idea.
In recent months, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have moved several of their companies out of California.
Page and Meta co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly purchased multi-million dollar properties in Florida. Filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who has homes on the West Coast and East Coast, also moved to New York to be closer to family.
Kalanick’s net worth is approximately $3.6 billion, according to Forbes. In 2020, he spent $43.3 million on a Bel-Air mansion in Los Angeles, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In the TBPN interview, Kalanick said he has owned a place in Austin for five years. The property is right on Lake Austin. The entrepreneur describes himself as a “passionate water skier” and “almost professional”.
Kalanick, who resigned as Uber’s chief executive in 2017 amid pressure from investors to resign, also revealed his new startup, Atoms.
The company makes “specialized robots with productive jobs” and focuses on mining and transportation. Several other companies, including ghost kitchen company CloudKitchens, are part of Atoms.
Atoms did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company is recruiting and workplaces are in the United States.
