Peter Thiel makes $3m donation to fight California’s proposed billionaire tax | California

Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel has donated $3 million to a California lobby group campaigning against a proposed wealth tax that would target the state’s billionaires. The seven-figure contribution comes as several ultra-wealthy tech moguls have left or threatened to leave California because of the tax.

Thiel, worth about $26 billion, made the donation last month to the California Business Roundtable political action committee, according to a public disclosure document first reported by The New York Times. A representative for Thiel did not respond to requests for comment.

The ballot bill, called the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act, is still in the early stages of collecting the 900,000 signatures needed to put it before voters in November. If passed, it would levy a one-time 5 percent tax on anyone in the state worth more than $1 billion and provide a five-year payment deadline. Thiel would owe the state about $1.3 billion based on his current net worth.

Thiel’s contribution to the California Business Roundtable Pac is an early signal of how California’s tech elite could mobilize its immense resources to overturn the proposed tax. As the proposal gains prominence, it has already become an obsession among some of the state’s wealthiest residents, who see it as an imminent threat to their immense fortunes.

The proposal has drawn opposition from a number of high-profile tech billionaires, including Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. The two men, worth more than $250 billion each, have moved their assets to other states in recent months, according to the New York Times, while the Wall Street Journal reported that Page recently spent about $173 million to buy two homes in Miami. Other tech billionaires, particularly members of the tech right such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, have urged their peers to leave the state.

Thiel has also recently taken steps to relocate part of his empire from California, with his private investment firm Thiel Capital announcing last year that it had opened an office in Miami. His donation to the California Business Roundtable also lists Miami as his location. Thiel has a history of funding conservative causes, including $1 million for Donald Trump’s first campaign, and has given millions to anti-tax groups and candidates in recent years.

Supporters of the tax, including the Service Employees International Union, say the revenue would help stave off the collapse of California’s health care system and fund the state’s public education programs. The tax would only affect about 200 people in the state, according to the union.

The proposed ballot measure also proved politically divisive among Democratic elected officials, with Gov. Gavin Newsom vowing to “fight” it and saying it would harm the state’s ability to be economically competitive. California Representative Ro Khanna supported the law.

The lobbying group involved in fighting the proposal called it a “dangerous wealth tax” in a statement to the Guardian, alleging it would force investments out of the state.

“The California Business Roundtable will continue to actively participate in ballot measures that affect business and the cost of living for all Californians,” said Roundtable Chairman Rob Lapsley. “That means opposing proposals like a dangerous wealth tax that would undermine our economy, decimate the state budget, drive investment out of state, and ultimately make daily life more expensive for working families. »

While a number of billionaires have spoken out against the tax, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently told Bloomberg Television that he sees no problem with it. Huang, who is worth an estimated $159 billion, said he “completely agreed” with the proposal and said he had “not even thought about it once.”