Google founder backs both Republican and Democrat in California governor’s race while ex-CEO fights billionaire tax | Silicon Valley
Tech billionaires are adding to their already huge spending in California politics as campaigns for governor and the proposed wealth tax heat up. According to newly released campaign finance disclosures, big names investing millions in state politics include current and former executives from Google, DoorDash, Reddit, LinkedIn and Facebook — evidence of Silicon Valley’s growing involvement in politics.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has become a major donor, contributing $1.04 million to an independent committee, the California Business Roundtable, that is campaigning against the billionaires tax bill, according to new documents released by the state government. The union-backed tax proposal, which is opposed by nearly all of the state’s mega-rich, aims to help cover education, food assistance and health care programs.
New campaign filings also reveal that Google co-founder Sergey Brin donated to both Republican and Democratic candidates for California’s gubernatorial seat, playing both sides of the aisle. Brin contributed $39,200 last week to Republican candidate Steve Hilton, a former Fox News contributor and adviser to former British Prime Minister David Cameron. Hilton, also a billionaire, is married to former Google communications executive Rachel Whetstone.
Brin also funded Democratic candidate Matt Mahan, a Silicon Valley favorite among the crowded field of Democrats. Last month, Brin capped the individual donation limit for Mahan’s campaign at $78,400. On Monday, Brin delivered a $1 million donation to an independent committee working to elect Mahan, called Deliver for California.
Brin, who moved to a $42 million estate on the northeast shore of Lake Tahoe in Nevada after the billionaire’s tax proposal, contributed $20 million in January to a committee fighting the measure, Building a Better California. Schmidt donated $2 million to the same committee around the same time.
A notoriously private person, Brin has become increasingly involved in politics in 2026, much like the rest of Silicon Valley. He attended a White House dinner with Donald Trump last year, where the president called his girlfriend, wellness influencer Gerelyn Gilbert-Soto, a “truly wonderful Maga girlfriend.” Brin’s ex-wife is Nicole Shanahan, who was Robert F Kennedy Jr’s running mate for president in 2024.
Mahan, who studied with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and is considered a tech-friendly candidate, has managed to garner millions of donations from Silicon Valley since announcing his campaign in late January. New state campaign records show he recently received individual donations of $39,200 from DoorDash CEO Tony Xu and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. And it brought in a high of $78,400 from Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, Cruise co-founder and former CEO Kyle Vogt, Napster co-founder and former Facebook president Sean Parker, and Zynga founder Mark Pincus.
In the latest round of campaign filings, Mahan even courted donors who helped launch companies known for working with the Trump administration, including Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale and Anduril co-founder Matt Grimm. Like Brin, Lonsdale also donated to Hilton.
The battle over the billionaires tax has also seen a steady flow of funding from the tech world. Campaign records show that donors to Build a Better California include DoorDash CEO Xu ($2 million), crypto billionaire and Ripple CEO Chris Larsen ($2 million), and Stripe CEO Patrick Collison ($2 million). Among those who donated to the California Business Roundtable were Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel ($3 million), Ring founder James Siminoff ($100,000) and Larsen ($750,000).
Mahan and Hilton have publicly said they oppose the proposed billionaires tax, which is still gathering signatures for a vote in November. Campaign organizers said in a statement Wednesday that they were “working around the clock” to collect those signatures.
Brin and Schmidt did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
