California billionaire tax heads to November ballot

California billionaire – California’s proposed one-time 5% wealth tax on billionaires is set for the November ballot after Gov. Gavin Newsom and opponents failed to reach a deal with the union behind it by June 25. Ultrawealthy advisers say some clients are already relocating from the

For more than a few of California’s wealthiest families, the timeline stopped being abstract the moment the measure cleared its latest deadline.

The proposed California wealth tax—requiring billionaires to pay a one-time tax equal to 5% of their net worth—will appear on the ballot in November after opponents. including Gov. Gavin Newsom, failed to cut a deal with the union behind it before the June 25 deadline. Now. more than 200-plus billionaires in California. a concentration higher than any other state and “most countries. ” are facing the possibility the proposal could become law.

Backers expect the push to ignite an expensive campaign fight and potentially prompt legal challenges. Newsom and others have vowed to keep fighting it.

Advisers to the ultrawealthy say many of their clients are treating the risk as already real. “The cat’s out of the bag,” said David Lesperance, a lawyer who advises the ultrawealthy on immigration, citizenship, and taxes. Lesperance said he had seven clients move out of California before January 1. 2026. because the measure is written to retroactively apply to billionaires who were living in the state as of that date.

Several high-profile billionaires made moves to reduce their California ties ahead of that deadline, including Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

Lesperance said the way the tax has been framed—as a one-time hit—doesn’t fully match how his clients are calculating their options. He said his clients “always assumed it wasn’t one time. it was the first time.” Even if they expect to be hit under the ballot measure. some may still decide not to wait around for whatever comes next.

Michael Cole. managing partner at R360. an exclusive. invite-only club for ultra-high-net-worth families. described the mood among many ultrawealthy Californians as born from frustration. Cole said the ultrawealthy have long felt burned by California and that many have already migrated out of the state.

Calling the wealth tax “another example of people feeling like California is at the leading edge of undue tax onto those that succeed,” Cole suggested the political fight ahead could become a referendum not only on the bill’s mechanics, but on the state’s broader approach to taxing success.

The measure is also likely to collide with legal arguments even if voters approve it.

Cole pointed to one issue that could make implementation messy: it’s unclear how 5% of a person’s net worth will be determined. He said that could become a logistical and administrative headache, especially for wealth tied up in private companies.

Cole described a scenario involving founders whose assets may total over $1 billion but are almost entirely tied up in stock. In that case, he said they could be forced to pay $50 million of cash “when the value of the company has never been realized yet.”

If the measure passes, legal challenges are widely expected, with some arguing its overall constitutionality.

Another lawyer flagged additional due-process concerns tied to how the tax applies. Kristin Yokomoto. a private wealth and family office services attorney in FBT Gibbons’ Newport Beach office. said arguments could center on due process. the retroactive application of the tax. and the nature of the tax being applied to net worth rather than income. She also pointed to practical complications in individual circumstances. including how to consider out-of-state assets and what happens if a couple worth over $1 billion goes through a divorce.

Newsom has already placed a counterproposal on the table. On Friday. he advocated instead for a federal wealth tax—one he said would be harder for billionaires to evade by leaving the state. Passing a federal wealth tax is still viewed as unlikely at this stage. but Lesperance said it is already on the radar of his clients. He said he helps assess their best options for pursuing citizenship abroad.

Proponents of the California tax say it’s necessary to offset federal funding cuts. and they plan for most of the revenue to go toward healthcare services. But not all opposition comes from the right. Some left-leaning opponents—including healthcare and labor groups that generally support raising taxes on the wealthy—have argued the proposed measure is not a sustainable. long-term solution.

Lesperance also said some of his clients are funding lobbyists to work on tax solutions that will serve them better and also satisfy California. He summed up their posture with a line that sounds practiced: “The art of taxation is plucking the golden geese with the least amount of hissing.”

The ballot in November now looks less like a single vote and more like the start of a new countdown—one that runs through campaign ads, court filings, and decisions about where the richest people in California will try to live before the tax’s retroactive rules take hold.

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