We wrote Sunday about California’s proposed wealth tax, a one-time five percent hit on billionaires’ worldwide net worth, and the fallout is already impossible to ignore. Billionaires, by definition, tend to be people who understand incentives, and they are not waiting around to see how this experiment plays out.
They are relocating residences, shifting operations, and moving capital out of California, reportedly draining at least a trillion dollars from the state so far. Among the most prominent names said to be heading for the exits are Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, whose combined net worth sits north of $500 billion. That alone should tell you something about how seriously this proposal is being taken by the people it targets.
Newsom unloads on California wealth tax proposal: ‘Makes no sense’ https://t.co/XdBOl4Q7cu
— POLITICO (@politico) January 13, 2026
Governor Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, is doing what ambitious politicians do best when reality collides with national aspirations: pretending he had nothing to do with it. Newsom is widely viewed as laying the groundwork for a presidential run, and he clearly understands how toxic a wealth tax sounds outside the progressive bubble. So he has suddenly discovered opposition to a policy that fits perfectly within the political ecosystem he has cultivated for years. On Monday, he told Politico that the proposal was his “worst nightmare,” claiming it was exactly what he had warned against and insisting he has been quietly trying to shut it down.
That performance might carry more weight if the proposal were not being pushed by SEIU United Healthcare Workers West, part of the same public-sector union apparatus that has bankrolled Newsom’s rise and enjoyed his loyalty throughout his career. This is not some rogue idea dreamed up by outsiders. It is a natural extension of California’s one-party progressive governance, a system Newsom has led for seven years. High taxes, endless spending, and little to show for it are not accidents; they are features of the model.
NEWSOM AGAINST WEALTH TAX IN CALIFORNIA
“You can’t isolate yourself from the 49 [other states]. We’re in a competitive environment. People have this simple luxury particularly people of that status. They already have two or three homes outside the state. It’s a simple issue.… pic.twitter.com/JCJKJDzi30
— Ron Pragides (@mrp) December 27, 2025
Newsom even floated the idea that a “national conversation” about wealth taxes might be worthwhile. Californians watching capital flee their state by the hundreds of billions might reasonably ask why anyone would want to export that damage nationwide. The governor himself admitted the measure “makes no sense” and is “really damaging to the state,” a conclusion that seems to arrive just in time for presidential positioning.
The question that hangs over all of this is simple: does anyone truly believe Newsom would oppose this tax if he were not eyeing the White House? His record suggests otherwise. He has never shown restraint when it comes to taxation, and sudden skepticism rings hollow when the consequences become politically inconvenient.
The next presidential election may still seem distant, but the sorting has already begun. Republicans would be wise to keep California front and center in that conversation. A trillion dollars leaving the state is not rhetoric. It is a verdict. And Gavin Newsom, no matter how hard he tries to distance himself, is the man who has been steering the ship.
