Tech insider warns California tax hikes will trigger mass billionaire exit

As Google co-founder Larry Page and Oracle founder Larry Ellison are among the latest high-profile Californians to flee, an insider warns that the “mass migration” of billionaire business leaders out of the state will only accelerate in 2026.

Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur Allison Huynh told Fox News Digital that two “rage-baiting” tax proposals she thinks Democrats are using to get voters to the polls in November could be the final nail in California’s coffin.

Huynh is a startup founder, investor and former fundraiser for former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

According to Huynh, the two tax proposals, an annual wealth tax proposal and a 2026 billionaires tax law, would cause a “mass migration,” starting with “not only billionaires, but also people who are investing in new ideas, in new infrastructure, whether it’s AI, whether it’s healthcare, whether it’s technology, whether it’s robotics.”

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Google co-founder Larry Page and Oracle founder Larry Ellison have become among the latest high-profile California business leaders to divest from the state. (Eric Risberg/AP Photo; AP)

Public records reviewed by Fox News Digital from the California Secretary of State’s office show that several business entities linked to the Google co-founder were moved out of the state in December, ahead of the Jan. 1, 2026, residency date tied to the proposed tax. Those filings indicate that his family office, Koop LLC, and his flu research fund, Flu Lab LLC, no longer list California, while a flying car company, One Aero, now lists its primary address in Florida.

Ellison has taken steps that signal a potential withdrawal from California, although details of an off-market sale of his San Francisco home for $45 million have not been independently confirmed by major media outlets. The New York Post reported the sale and said it would be the city’s largest real estate transaction in 2025.

With these outings in mind, Huynh likened the proposed tax hikes to a restaurant on the verge of going bankrupt.

“Instead of lowering the price, they are raising it,” she said. “And then you go to a restaurant, and it’s like $50 for a bowl of really bad dumplings.”

According to Huynh, the annual wealth tax would impose a 1 to 1.5 percent tax on anything over $50 million.

“And it’s a paper assessment,” she explained. “So, for example, if you have $1 million in liquid assets, that’s cash and $49 million in, say, art or a house that you inherited from your family. You would be responsible for the entire $50 million in terms of cost basis for that 1%.”

The second proposal, the Billionaires Tax Act of 2026, would impose a one-time 5% tax on any asset valued at more than $1 billion, including a business ownership interest.

“You could be a founder, you could be a tech star, and you could be worth a hundred billion dollars. But let’s say you only have about $2 million in liquid assets, because all of that money is being used to run your new AI company. Well, it doesn’t matter. You will be fully taxed on this $100 billion. And so, effectively, you owe the State of California one time, $5 billion.“

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The San Francisco skyline. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, file)

Although the impact of these proposals would be catastrophic, Huynh said she believes California Democrats view them as “rage bait” to motivate voters to show up to the polls in this year’s midterm elections.

“It’s the Democrats’ answer to MAGA,” she explained, saying it’s a kind of “Eat the rich.”

Although proposed in the California Assembly, the annual tax proposal is not on track to be added to the November ballot. Supporters of the billionaires tax, however, are gathering signatures to have the proposal added to the ballot.

According to Huynh, billionaires and business leaders aren’t waiting to see the end result.

“A lot of people I know, including some of their family members, suddenly sold their house in two days in the state of California. And a lot of them went to buy a house in Florida, Texas and also Puerto Rico,” she said.

“They are founders, investors in robotics, in AI companies. They are controversial, but you have to admit that they have created a lot of value – thousands and hundreds of thousands of jobs in California.

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The American flag flies over cranes and containers in Long Beach, California. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)

“We can’t sanction these billionaires to come under California jurisdiction,” she said, exasperated. “So why are we imposing bad legislation that will drive the vast majority of investors into California businesses? And they’ll probably take their businesses, their multi-billion dollar businesses, with them. We saw it with SpaceX. We saw this with Oracle. They will take it with them to Texas, Tennessee, Florida and all the thousands and thousands of jobs that come with it. And there’s nothing we can do,

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“They’re not going to want to be in California,” she said. “It’s a very, very dangerous decision.”

Fox Business’ Kristen Altus contributed to this report.