California exit: Silicon Valley billionaire announces move; Craft Ventures opens Austin office
Billionaires are reportedly leaving California to avoid a proposed 5% wealth tax, with figures like Larry Page and Peter Thiel considering moves. David Sacks confirmed his relocation to Texas, criticizing the tax as "asset seizure." Chamath Palihapitiya warned of a $500 billion net worth exodus, predicting a worsening budget deficit for the state.
Billionaires are reportedly fleeing California to escape a crippling tax hike. The names include Google co-founder Larry Page; venture capitalist Peter Thiel; and David Sacks, a longtime venture capitalist and former member of the PayPal Mafia who now serves as President Donald Trump’s crypto czar.
These billionaires are cutting ties with California because of a potential ballot measure that would tax 5% of their total wealth — which could reportedly run into billions of dollars. The controversial wealth tax, if passed, would affect anyone who was a California resident at the start of 2026.While Chamath Palihapitiya, a venture capitalist and former Facebook exec, claimed in a Twitter post that people's collective net worth of $500B left California for good on December 31, there are so far no official confirmations, except from David Sacks.
In a Twitter post, Sacks confirmed his move to Texas. "I’m pleased to end the year by announcing that Craft Ventures has opened an Austin office. God bless Texas and happy new year!," wrote Sacks.
The White House AI czar has been publicly slamming the California Wealth Tax. "After blindly funding the Left for years, Silicon Valley is finally realizing what time it is. Dinner time. And they’re on the menu," wrote Sacks in a social media post.
"Why does California need a wealth tax? To fund the massive fraud. Red states like Texas and Florida don’t even have income taxes. Democrats steal everything, then blame job creators for their “greed,” Sack said in another post.
Chamath Palihapitiya, Gary Tan and other billionaires' warning to California
Chamath Palihapitiya too has been publicly trashing the proposed Billionaire's tax. In a post that can be termed as warning to California government, he wrote, "People I know, with a collective net worth of $500B, scrambled and left California for good yesterday.
They took no risk because of the proposed asset seizure tax - introduced as a “Billionaire Tax”. Without these people, the California budget deficit will only get bigger.
This hole gets filled in one of two ways: more borrowing from the bond market - who is purely financial and unforgiving or more taxes on everyone else. Meanwhile waste, fraud and abuse runs rampant from the hundreds of billions in revenues the state already collects," wrote Palihapitiya. Other billionaires who have blasted the tax include hedge funder Bill Ackman and Garry Tan, CEO of San Francisco-based startup accelerator Y Combinator. Ackman, who is not a California resident, said that “literally no one would stay” if the tax passes. Gary Tan too warned flatly in a tweet: “Passing this tax will destroy innovation in California.”