California’s Self-Destruction Accelerates As Anti-Trump Union Pushes Wealth Tax And More Billionaires Plot Exit

“California is on a path to self-destruction. Hollywood is already toast and now the most productive entrepreneurs will leave taking their tax revenues and job creation elsewhere,” Bill Ackman wrote on X, citing a New York Times report that said several billionaires, including Peter Thiel and Larry Page, are preparing to flee the state as a proposed one-time wealth tax ballot measure gains momentum.

California is on a path to self-destruction. Hollywood is already toast and now the most productive entrepreneurs will leave taking their tax revenues and job creation elsewhere.

And then the Democrats highlight @CAgovernor Newsom as a great leader. Crazy. https://t.co/bFyLhARrNn

— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) December 27, 2025

A one-time wealth tax aimed at fewer than 300 billionaires in the state, backed by the left-wing and anti-Trump health care union Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, would tax California residents worth more than $1 billion at 5% of their assets, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2026 (more color here). 

S.E.I.U.-U.H.W. joined a “No Kings” rally against Trump earlier this year. What the union does not want you to know is that the rally was funded by dark-money NGOs tied to leftist billionaires. It was merely a propaganda scam from the start. In reality, the union functions as little more than a megaphone for the Democratic Party’s unhinged left-wing billionaire class that openly hates America and capitalism. 

In response, Page has discussed relocating by year-end and entities tied to him have incorporated in Florida. Thiel has explored expanding operations outside California and already maintains residency and voter registration in Florida, as well as additional international citizenships.

Here’s more from NYT:

Billionaires, including Peter Thiel, the tech venture capitalist, and Larry Page, a co-founder of Google, are considering cutting or reducing their ties to California by the end of the year because of a proposed ballot measure that could tax the state’s wealthiest residents, according to five people familiar with their thinking.

Mr. Thiel, 58, who owns a home in the Hollywood Hills and operates a personal investment firm from Los Angeles, has explored opening an office for that firm, Thiel Capital, in another state and spending more time outside California, three of the people said.

Other billionaires who appear to be making moves to decrease their presence in California include Mr. Page, 52, a longtime resident of Palo Alto. He has discussed leaving the state by the end of the year, according to two people briefed on the talks. In mid-December, three limited liability companies associated with Mr. Page filed documents to incorporate in Florida, according to state records.

For the wealthiest Californians, this could mean multibillion-dollar tax bills. Page alone could face more than $12 billion in taxes.

The proposed wealth tax comes as the struggling state, weighed down by failed progressive ideas and policies, has grown parasitical, attempting to latch onto billionaires to foot the bill for a looming $100 billion hole in the state’s health care system.

Not hard to see why the one-party-rule state is hemorrhaging taxpayer funds… There’s no accountability.

JUST IN: 🇺🇸 New report alleges $76,500,000,000 or more in fraudulent spending in California. pic.twitter.com/OSLLfTkuzO

— Remarks (@remarks) December 24, 2025

Here is the reparations approval signed by @DanielLurie the day before Christmas Eve. In the news biz we call this the holiday news drop. No Instagram posts, no fanfare, just his signature on what is likely an illegal bill. Of note, London Breed did not support reparations. https://t.co/HpfokfIUZ6 pic.twitter.com/JxAo8Spf9X

— 💥Susan Dyer Reynolds🗞️ (@SusanDReynolds) December 27, 2025

Instead of taking accountability for failed left-wing policies, the one-party rule state is attempting to foot the bill by taxing the most productive people in the state. The consequences of such a move are very clear: the exodus of people and companies will continue.

Unhinged leftists of the S.E.I.U.-U.H.W. say the wealth tax will raise up to $100 billion from roughly 200 billionaires to support California’s health care system amid budget pressures.

Left-wing Gov. Gavin Newsom has boasted about draining public resources for illegal aliens…

Trump often lies about Democrats giving healthcare to undocumented immigrants. In California, Newsom actually did it. And defends it.

“I’m proud of that. I believe in universal health care.”

But, he says, “we failed on the border. We need to own up to that.” pic.twitter.com/5MFgK9tFQu

— Ezra Klein (@ezraklein) December 11, 2025

We suspect there will be a mad dash by billionaires restructuring residency and assets, particularly toward business-friendly red states such as Florida and Texas, to reduce exposure to imploding California. Just remember, for the socialists in California, once they impose one wealth tax, it likely won’t be the last.

Let’s hope Newsom’s destructive left-wing policies and overregulation never make it to the White House. His failed progressive policies are merely a reflection of the rudderless Democratic Party, which has been hijacked by anti-American globalist billionaires. These folks have no economic agenda, merely strip the nation of wealth for illegals and ensure ‘America First’ never succeeds. California is burning. And it’s not from wildfires.