Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin Spends $100 Million to Avoid California's Billionaire Tax

Brin's Latest Donation Brings His Total Contribution to Over $100 Million

Sergey Brin, Google's co-founder, has donated an additional $20 million to an organization opposing California's proposed billionaire tax, bringing his total contribution to over $100 million. The tax, known as Prop 40, would impose a 5% tax on the net worth of around 200 billionaires residing in the state.

Brin's latest donation was made to Build a Better California, an organization advocating against Prop 40. The tax would generate an estimated $13.3 billion in revenue, which would primarily be used to fund California's healthcare programs.

California's Medicaid program alone could lose up to $30 billion in federal funding once Trump's budget cuts take effect next year. Brin's fellow Google co-founder Larry Page and former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick have also left the state in an effort to avoid the tax.

Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has expressed concern over the economic impact of billionaires fleeing California. He has proposed a national billionaires' tax instead.

"Today, the office worker can shoulder a higher tax rate than the heiress," Newsom noted in a blog post. "We should end the ‘tax-free lifestyle loan,' the gimmick that lets the ultra-wealthy borrow against their stock portfolios while reporting no taxable income."

Californians will vote on Prop 40 in November. The organization that Brin is funding has proposed opposing ballot measures that, if passed, could effectively block Prop 40 by limiting the introduction of new taxes.

Not all billionaires are opposed to the tax, however. Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang has stated that he is "perfectly fine" paying the tax.

"I have not even thought about it once," Huang said in a January interview with Bloomberg. "We chose to live in Silicon Valley, and whatever taxes they would like to apply, so be it. I'm perfectly fine with it."