Explainer

Why did California voters reject a tax on billionaires?

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At the Monday tally, with 83% of the estimated vote counted, the no side held 53%, so Californians rejected a one-time 5% tax on billionaires' net worth.

Vote share on the measure
  • No53%
  • Yes47%

El Mundo reported that opponents spent about 425 million dollars, and Bloomberg put their advantage over supporters at more than 11 to one.

$425m

Spent by opponents of the taxSource: EL MUNDO · 10.11.2026

Opponents, including Governor Gavin Newsom and Katie Porter, warned the wealthiest residents would leave the state, and the New York Times reported that several tech moguls had already moved out of California to avoid the tax. The measure would have hit roughly 250 billionaires.

250

Billionaires the tax would hitSource: The New York Times · 10.11.2026

Economist Antoine Levy of UC Berkeley said the outcome points to a wider reluctance to pass wealth taxes. "The conditions were probably the best they could have been to get this to pass, and even then it failed."

“The conditions were probably the best they could have been to get this to pass, and even then it failed.”

Antoine Levy

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The story

California voters reject a 5% tax on billionaires' net worth in Proposition 40 voteRead the article

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