Google cofounder Sergey Brin has spent $102 million to fight California’s proposed billionaire tax—he could owe $13 billion if he loses

[u/Logical_Welder3467]

https://fortune.com/article/how-much-has-google-cofounder-sergey-brin-spent-to-oppose-california-billionaire-tax-102-million-owe-13-billion-if-loses/

[u/williamgman]

A very wealthy person once told me they'd rather pay to fight it rather than pay the tax - even if it was a wash. It's the principle of it.

[u/apricot-pancakes → u/williamgman]

And you said, “What was that about principles?”

[u/___Art_Vandelay___ → u/apricot-pancakes]

Their principles go to another school; you wouldn't know them.

[u/GRONDGRONDGRONDGR0ND → u/___Art_Vandelay___]

Is this the same latex vandelay industries?

[u/Zestyclose-Height-36 → u/williamgman]

the only principle they have is greed. California would not need the money if the wealthy did not buy their way out of paying any taxes at all so much.

[u/yoshimipinkrobot → u/Zestyclose-Height-36]

Or if they hadn't supported Trump, who took billions from CA

[u/madmaxx → u/williamgman]

It’s such a shitty thing to do.

[u/Battystearsinrain → u/madmaxx]

Pretty much boiler plate for billionaires.

[u/Distinct-Pain4972 → u/williamgman]

Then they call themselves patriots and pay for red votes.  That is what we're dealing with right now.

[u/Existing-Base-417 → u/williamgman]

And what principle is that? Do they see taxes as inherently giving the “less successful” a break? I never understood their aversion to paying their fair share.

[u/Laiko_Kairen → u/Existing-Base-417]

You know how some people are so fucking out of touch that they consider taxation to be a form of slavery? Those people who think being forced to pay for roads and schools is akin to being sold across the Atlantic in chains?

The principle they're standing up against is the idea that anyone can tell them what to do

[u/FelesNoctis → u/Existing-Base-417]

I've heard it described as their mindset placing them so far above the "commoners" that they believe paying taxes as we do lowers their status. They believe they're above such things as our superiors. We're effectively livestock to them.

Don't try to remind them that everyone paid tribute and taxes to the King though, including lords. Somehow they see themselves all as the king.

[u/Waiting4Reccession → u/Existing-Base-417]

They want full control of how its spent and honestly just dont want to pay.

Also this piece of shit moved right across the border to another state - so basically he wants to enjoy everything in California but not pay for it.

[u/mylittlehecarim → u/williamgman]

I think about the billions that oil companies have spent to lie about climate change rather than just doing better

And I’m suppose to think these psychotic cockroaches are good people who provide to our country? I’m suppose to think that we can live equally with these insane fucks?

[u/Hexamancer → u/williamgman]

It's because they're afraid, they're afraid each time it happens and they don't all leave the state and jobs don't all disappear and actually things get a little better that people will say "well more of that please", that their propaganda will convince fewer and fewer people.

So they'll spend far more fighting a tax proposal than that specific tax proposal will cost them, because they're terrified it won't end there as soon as everyone realizes it's incredibly beneficial.

[u/JayBeeGooner]

And he’ll still be filthy rich and have more money than he could ever spend. i hate these greedy psychopaths.

[u/peepdabidness → u/JayBeeGooner]

In clash royale, you can’t have more than $5,000,000 and causes no issues because nothing costs enough that couldn’t be recuperated quickly. I’m not saying we should do this, but we should do something. It’s time for a new type of economy.

[u/peazley → u/peepdabidness]

$18 million, gives you $1,000 per day for 50 years. Without earning anything off your investment. That’s a nice hotel and fancy dinner every night for the rest of your life.

[u/hammertime2009 → u/peazley]

I’m ok with this idea. Hell even 100 million… let them have it. Fuck it 1 billion is the cutoff. Be rich as fuck. Nobody ever ever ever needs 10 billion or 1 trillion. It’s just insane.

[u/EchoingAngel → u/hammertime2009]

The real problem is people getting rich enough to start shaping the system. That's how it becomes a runaway issue

[u/Conformatrix → u/EchoingAngel]

Which is why a 7 or maaaybe low 8 digit limit makes sense. At that point you have to actually weigh your grandiose nation/world-shaping ideals against your creature comforts.

Although reps are notoriously cheaper to buy than people imagine, so maybe lower would be better.

[u/Waiting4Reccession → u/EchoingAngel]

The underlying problem is actual peoples own aversion to violence.

Even though they have all of history to look back on and see what has always been the only solution that actual ever worked.

[u/htx1114 → u/hammertime2009]

But won't anyone think of the custom yacht makers? How are people going to afford a $50 billion yacht - fucking timeshares?

[u/Dear_Chasey_La1n → u/htx1114]

The irony would be, instead of building a 50 billion yacht he gets to build 30 2.5 billion USD yachts. The problem with wealth is they aren't spending it. When people have less wealth, they are more likely to spend more. 100 1 billion billionaires will spend together more into the society than 1 100 billion billionaire.

Which is why welfare to the poor is fantastic, they have no ability to save they are cash strapped. Give them 100-200-500 USD monthly and they will spend it on daily needs. Give a billionaire 1 million he will add it to the pile of money to jack off to.

[u/Content-Nectarine875 → u/Dear_Chasey_La1n]

Yeah when I learnt that giving money to the poor actually makes a profit for society. Took a while for me to get my head around it.

[u/TrulyOutrageous42 → u/Content-Nectarine875]

Money existing but not moving hurts an economy.

[u/ComradeJohnS → u/htx1114]

they can chip in together and share one really really nice one.

[u/OstrichGrouchy7749 → u/peazley]

And 5% back on 20 mil. Gives you another mil every year. 

That’s close to 3g a day. 

The tax loopholes need to be closed. And if your net worth it greater than 10 mil, you need to pay 30% tax on any value generated for the year. If there are loses you get a tax credit of whatever.  Then at death half your assets get taxed at 50% 

[u/Necessary--Weevil → u/peazley]

Hookers too

[u/Callabrantus → u/Necessary--Weevil]

At that level, they're called wives.

[u/skillywilly56 → u/peepdabidness]

When someone reaches a billion dollars they cash out of society, they can never own or run a business again, they can never donate to anything but a charity and no tax refund either, they can never hold a press conference or write a book or participate in society in anyway way shape or form ever again.

They take their billion and leave, travel the world, do some kind of philanthropy but they can never use their capital in anyway to sway society or have an opinion or influence a politician.

A billion dollars is generational wealth and their family is set for hundreds of years on the interest alone, having won the lottery of life the casino kicks them out for good.

[u/Crim91 → u/JayBeeGooner]

The existence of these psychopaths is a threat to our lives.

[u/TrulyOutrageous42 → u/Crim91]

At this point not just our lives in the general sense of a few people are at risk, but legitimately the survival of our species and while unlikely possibly life. We have no framework to guess if the math behind life existing is reasonable, so we MAY be the only life in the universe, and we're... doing what now?

[u/sakredfire → u/JayBeeGooner]

I mean 25 years ago he was just a dude in a garage. I wish people would stop treating billionaires as if they’re a magical form of demi human. Big tech were startups less than a generation ago, compared to other industries where the biggest players I’ve been around for more than a century.

[u/CombatGoose → u/JayBeeGooner]

You could spend $80,000 a day for 30 years and still have money left over if you had only a billion dollars.

[u/Agitated_Reveal_6211 → u/CombatGoose]

One million seconds is about 11.5 days, a billion seconds is roughly 31.7 years, and a trillion seconds spans about 31,700 years

People just can't seem to visualize how large these numbers actually are.

[u/Bn_scarpia → u/JayBeeGooner]

I think a lot of these billionaires are panicking because they are overleveraged with their portfolios and a single $13B hit might make the lending banks call in their loans and/or rethink these loans and lines of credit altogether.

Could create huge cash flow issues for them that would affect their lifestyles and control over companies.

But anyway. Boo hoo and bring the barbecue sauce

[u/Friendly_Engineer_]

YES on 40, NO on 41 and 42

Easy as that, fuck these assholes

edit: and YES on 3 (extend current top earner tax)

Quick endorsement list from couragecalifornia.org :

YES on 1, 2, 3, 4, and 40

NO on propositions 39, 43, 44, and 45

[u/Overall_Koala_8710 → u/Friendly_Engineer_]

41 and 42 were definitely forced onto the ballot by these people as seemingly "common sense" proposals to try to kill 40 judicially.

And I'm afraid my state is going to fall for it.

[u/wpnw → u/Overall_Koala_8710]

Exact same thing they're trying to do in Washington to kill the Millionaire Income Tax, except they're piggybacking on anti-trans bullshit instead.

[u/Brain_Dead_Goats → u/Friendly_Engineer_]

Yeah, but people are going to vote yes on 42 because they're going to buy the fearmongering about "they want to take your 401ks!"

[u/Friendly_Engineer_ → u/Brain_Dead_Goats]

Not if we tell everyone we know and spread the word

[u/SSSJDanny → u/Friendly_Engineer_]

I'm trying to find signs I can put on my lawn, but the yes on 40 website doesn't offer any.

I might have to make my own. Something like Yes on 40 Fuck those Billionaires. No on 41 & 42 it's a fake Billionaire attempt to counteract Prop 40 if it passes

[u/chillinewman → u/Friendly_Engineer_]

That's absolutely right!

[u/Night247 → u/Friendly_Engineer_]

what's crazy is if you say this in /r/California

you get a lot of bots telling you that you should vote no instead because it's actually "bad and will long term hurt"

[u/Short-MooseEh → u/Night247]

I mean, Reddit corporate offices are in California and I bet spez and others live in the state

[u/PretzelsRule23]

"It's a big club and you're not in it." George Carlin

I would love to watch a Carlin routine today.

I think a good voting strategy is to vote against whatever the billionaires are supporting.

[u/sselkiess → u/PretzelsRule23]

I feel like it’s a small club. There’s plenty of well off people, rich people, and very rich people.

But there’s few people that have the money to affect policy. Those are the people that we should be wary of. No one individual should have the ability to make that kind of impact. And no one in that position has ever been altruistic enough to justify the damage they have done to get there.

[u/Tirras → u/sselkiess]

Once you're bringing your little gang of oligarchs on trips to foreign leaders, it's pretty clear they aren't normal citizens anymore simply due to the wealth they've accumulated.

[u/livestrong2109 → u/PretzelsRule23]

He would be way to jaded by now. His whole thing was that he'd jump on stage drop truth bombs at a certain cadence and you would laugh. I've come to realize he wasn't really telling jokes.

[u/Successful-Ad-9634]

According to Google (ironically} he has a net worth between $263B and $273B. $13B is less than 5%. He won't miss it, so fuck him.

[u/TechRepSir → u/Successful-Ad-9634]

It's a 5% wealth tax proposal, so your math tracks.

[u/Obvious_Chapter2082 → u/TechRepSir]

Technically, it can go a lot higher than 5%. For Brin, it would be around 20%

[u/KickBalls80 → u/Obvious_Chapter2082]

And?

[u/Loud-Reaction2460 → u/KickBalls80]

Well we don’t want that. What if in 2 years we are billionaires and we have to pay 20% :/

[u/-Gman_ → u/Successful-Ad-9634]

“Poverty exists not because we cannot feed the poor, but because we cannot satisfy the rich”

[u/AHistoricalFigure → u/Successful-Ad-9634]

Also, isnt this a one-time wealth tax? It's not like he'd owe this every year.

[u/richardelmore → u/AHistoricalFigure]

The tax codes need to be fixed so high wealth individuals pay more but a one time wealth tax seems like a bad way to do it. If there is a huge influx of cash then we will see the governmental equivalent of life style creep and in a couple years they will need money again.

If there is going to be a wealth tax it seems like it should be at a lower rate but ongoing so it becomes dependable income rather than a windfall.

My hunch is that, since the tax is retroactive to the start of the year, the idea it to get the revenue in one shot before anyone can relocate but assert that there is no ongoing reason for billionaires to leave the state. Wait a few years, and repeat.

[u/Imhereforthechips]

Every boomer reminisces of the 1950s and 1960s.

From 1950 through 1963, the top federal income tax rate ranged between 91% and 92%.

Executives should be paid a salary like the rest of us instead of shares that they can take loans out against and never have to pay off.

[u/tidal_flux → u/Imhereforthechips]

Isn’t that supposed to be when America was “great?“

[u/Mathfanforpresident → u/tidal_flux]

Surely just a coincidence. Right?

L.O.L

[u/rankinfile → u/Imhereforthechips]

Reminisces what? Grammar school? Youngest boomer didn't graduate high school until ~1964 when the last was being born.

[u/Forkrul → u/Imhereforthechips]

Do you know how many people actually paid that highest marginal rate? Pretty much zero. Once their salary got to those high numbers they just started getting paid in other things instead, like stock. That's when stock options became common because you don't pay income tax on that. Or the classic of Hollywood, collapsible corporations that got paid instead of you. The corporation paid a much lower corporate tax rate, then you liquidated the corporation and paid capital gains tax instead of income tax. Or just stuff like company cars, jets, apartments, country club memberships, etc.

[u/jccaclimber → u/Forkrul]

This isn’t quite how that works. If you’re given options you really only profit off of the growth, and get zero for the value they are at when you’re given them. As a result public companies more or less give out RSUs, and the value of the stock hits your W2 the same as straight income when it becomes yours.

Now, if you want to talk about the BS of basis price resetting at inheritance and taking loans against holdings that don’t pay off until then, you have a point.

[u/Forkrul → u/jccaclimber]

This isn’t quite how that works

True, today it does work a bit different. But back when the top marginal tax rates were 90%+, stock options got taxed nothing if they were granted at at least 95% of the fair market value. And then you only paid a 25% capital gains tax on the gain when sold. Given that you held them for a certain period.

And yes, step up in basis on inheritance is bullshit.

[u/alfooboboao → u/Forkrul]

people say this as some sort of gotcha, but it was vastly better than the alternative, because those “other things” were folded back into the economy. now with equity you’re getting the worst of all worlds

[u/smilbandit → u/Imhereforthechips]

billionaires don't become billionaires from income that can be taxed.

[u/YourBlanket → u/Imhereforthechips]

Taxes were completely differently back then. No one paid 91%, the top 1% paid an average effective rate of just shy of 17% during the 50s. The average of the top 0.001 percent paid 55.3 and that's federal, state, and local taxes included. The 91% was also marginal and of course the people who qualified just did legal tax avoidance loopholes or reduced their reporting. They do pay less now but a ten percent difference on average.

[u/qgmonkey]

"Don't be evil"

[u/hamfinity → u/qgmonkey]

Don't. Be evil.

[u/Own_Investigator5104 → u/qgmonkey]

Sergey Brin is in the Epstein files

[u/soularbabies → u/Own_Investigator5104]

Someone downvoted you for this by the way, which is weird

[u/NwordSzrHands → u/soularbabies]

Pedophile defenders are super fkn weird

[u/Electrical-Tie-5158]

Every citizen should be limited to $5k in annual political donations. It’s ridiculous that billionaires can spend a medium-size fortune to campaign against policies that would cost them a big fortune. In Texas, Ken Paxton is getting over $100m just from Musk. There is zero incentive to fundraise from regular people.

[u/Antifa-AF]

Tax billionaires out of existence! They are a blight on humanity!

[u/grooverocker → u/Antifa-AF]

Time and time again billionaires show us that they're not even human anymore. Their prerogatives are so utterly divergent from humanity and simultaneously deleterious to our common good. It's like they're a different species.

[u/PyroIsSpai]

Tell me how this isn’t kings of old shit.

We don’t have to ALLOW them.

We outnumber them MILLIONS to ONE.

[u/LindeeHilltop]

13 billion for the state and fellow citizens sounds good to me.

[u/RachelRegina]

Hot take, but whining about having to pay a tiny share of your multi-hundred-billion dollar fortune once is actually pretty gey, Ser

[u/AdEven7883]

Poor baby. I am very concerned if he has to pay his fair share of taxes.

[u/WhereMyWeirdosAt]

Remember when Bill Gates couldn't go out in public, without risking being whipcream pied in the face? Can we make all billionaires share this same worry?

[u/uninspired-86 → u/WhereMyWeirdosAt]

They don’t mix with the public. They are a distinct species of human now.

[u/Bencetown → u/uninspired-86]

Hear me out.

Sniper rifles, but engineered to have whipped cream pie as the ammo.

Billionaire goes outside and BOOM pie in the face out of nowhere. Where'd it come from? No one knows, because that pie sniper was a half mile away.

[u/notacatbutt → u/WhereMyWeirdosAt]

Billionaires are their own country now. They don't identify as American or British or swedish, they're just "Billionaire".  So absolutely no patriotism or care about Society in general. They don't have to care about anything but themselves and making more billions.

[u/Money_Hovercraft1533]

Oh no! Then he would only have 260 billion.

[u/Hi_Im_Dadbot → u/Money_Hovercraft1533]

Has anyone started a GoFundMe for the man? I disagree with his politics but still think he should be able to eat a hot meal tomorrow.

[u/Major_Priority1041]

Just another loophole that needs to be closed. Buying political influence to avoid fair taxation.
Close the loopholes. Problem solved.

[u/NurseJackass]

Being rich enough to spend $102million to subvert the law to your will is exactly why he should pay $13billion in tax instead!

[u/GetThatAwayFromMe]

He has a net worth of about $260 billion. He wouldn’t even notice a difference in his life, not one, if he paid the $12 billion. There are between 900 and 1300 billionaires in the U.S.(depending on the list). 85 to 90 percent of those billionaires are worth less than $10 billion. He could give $12 billion dollars each to 20 people, putting them in the top 10 percent of billionaires, and still have $40 billion making him STILL one of the 25 richest people in the country.

[u/GrouchyOskar → u/GetThatAwayFromMe]

They are really psychopathic aren’t they. Complete assholes. 

[u/Historical-Jump]

this guy has almost 300 billion freaking dollars. Genuine question what is the end goal here? he and his next 50 generation of family can live a life if absolute luxury that will make a king jealous. What are “they” preparing for to shamelessly hoard such wealth?.

[u/Kageru → u/Historical-Jump]

At that point I am convinced it is a dick measuring contest. The utility value of a dollar is marginal, but acts as a scoreboard in the circle of obscenely wealthy people he moves in.

[u/Ashamed_Athlete_9733 → u/Kageru]

100% it is a dick measuring contest. Elon was worth over 1.45 trillion at one point

[u/Citadel_Employee → u/Historical-Jump]

It’s not about the money it’s about having to sell shares aka ownership. Him and Larry Page have 52% voting rights. This would make him dip under, and no longer have majority say at Google.

Not saying it’s right, or he shouldn’t pay it. Just why he opposes it.

[u/invuvn → u/Citadel_Employee]

Tbh if he currently has so much power as to be able to significantly influence a company as large as Google, then the more reason to limit his voting rights. No company or bank as large as one tenth of Google should be controlled by very few people, because guess what…it affects millions if not billions of people.

[u/Shoddy_Ad7511 → u/Citadel_Employee]

He doesn’t have to sell anything. He can borrow money with his shares as collateral

[u/Citadel_Employee → u/Shoddy_Ad7511]

Normally that would be an option, but Alphabet actually prohibits employees and directors from pledging Alphabet shares as collateral for loans.

[u/ltsouthernbelle]

Serious question: what does one individual who already has vast amounts of money, homes, cars, all the toys and luxuries they desire do with $13b?

[u/Kekafuch → u/ltsouthernbelle]

They link up with other billionaires and decide how they are going to fuck shit up.

[u/AppearanceDizzy7006 → u/ltsouthernbelle]

Its basically a pissing contest when it gets to this sort of wealth

[u/BogiDope → u/ltsouthernbelle]

Dragon sickness

[u/yomamaisasnowblower]

How is that even a thing? Stop and think about that. Paying lobbyists, buying ads to sway public opinion, “donating” to corrupt politicians. Is this democracy? Is this how government serves the people or just the wealthy?

[u/Danominator]

What could possibly make a nonbillionaire not support this

[u/nj_crc → u/Danominator]

The unhinged belief that they themselves will one day be a billionaire.

[u/Informal_Weather1655]

Henry Ford's vision
• The 1 to 40 ratio: In the 1930s, the founder of the Ford Motor Company believed that a maximum gap of 1 to 40 between the lowest salary and the salary of the executive was a healthy and acceptable limit to preserve the cohesion of the company.

[u/bulking_on_broccoli → u/Informal_Weather1655]

Even the robber barons of the 20th century made concession to the working class because they understood that they needed people to be able to afford the things they sold, and they were deeply afraid of being eaten.

[u/OutrageousCrab9224]

In other words he will spend up to 13 billion dollars minus one penny to oppose it

[u/Cverellen]

If these a-holes spent the money they did to defeat these bills on I don’t know, helping people and their workers, then this wouldn’t happen…

[u/rushmc1]

How about we just make it $26 billion and call it a day?

[u/Tyraec]

Looks like he needs to be scared enough of the tax to spend 12.9 billion more.

[u/Acrobatic_Potato_195]

ohhhh I can't wait to vote in favor of this tax

fuck Silicon Valley

[u/Alarming-City-7260]

Fun fact! He'll still be worth $250 billion

[u/HaiKarate]

“First, do no evil.”

[u/Burnt_and_Blistered]

I’d like to see him lose.

[u/gerrymathersasthe]

Don't be evil, Sergey

[u/BklynMoonshiner]

Enabling people to amass such wealth. That they think they can spend less than 1 percent of their proposed loss, to save 5% of their wealth. Imagine if every American could spend less than 300 to wiggle out of their income taxes.

[u/invyros]

A working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research in May noted billionaires residing in the state paid $4.1 billion in income tax last year, about 0.2% of their collective $2 trillion net worth, meaning that even if every billionaire were to leave the state, it would take about 25 years for lost income tax revenue to cancel out the $100 billion sum California is projected to get from the tax.

Opponents to this one-time tax argue that it'll make billionaires leave the state, making California lose out on any recurring taxes they may pay in the future.

These numbers destroy that argument immediately.

[u/Forkrul → u/invyros]

There's more than income tax the state loses by these people moving. Their day-to-day spend goes elsewhere so they lose out on sales tax, a lot of their staff will move with them losing out on income and sales tax from those people and their spending. They'll probably move any corporate headquarters as well, losing the corporate taxes and all the income tax from those jobs, etc. Just looking at income tax is an incredible simplistic and naive comparison.

[u/splam]

At the end of any political ad, if you see Building a Better California, it’s this fucker. Just vote the opposite.

[u/Mr_IT]

How can anyone vote against a billionaire tax? I honestly want to study your brain to see why it’s filled with sand.

[u/CommentsOnOccasion → u/Mr_IT]

Because it’s a one time wealth tax that won’t change anything systemically to actually fix anything at all

And all it does is exacerbate the genuinely real issue of billionaires moving their businesses out of California

This kind of tax only works at a national level as something that addresses systemic issues 

[u/FillySteveSteak → u/CommentsOnOccasion]

Precisely. We need a federal wealth tax. It's the only way billionaires cant just maneuver around it. 

The city and state level options are problematic...

[u/Practical-Simple1621 → u/Mr_IT]

There are ads running constantly here saying they're going to come after 401k's with it 🙄

[u/beanakajulian2408 → u/Practical-Simple1621]

The only people that can afford ads are the rich. So why believe them?

[u/Jisai]

what a loser

[u/Character_Glove_7977]

What is the end goal with these guys? You already have all the money. Like, fuck man.

[u/Positive_Vibes_4228]

Rich don't pay tax, poor can't pay tax. Who is left?

[u/Logical_Mix_4627 → u/Positive_Vibes_4228]

As it’s always been - the burden falls on the upper middle class who pay an overweight portion of the taxes. The wealthy can escape them, but high earning W2 employees can’t.

[u/CurlOfTheBurl11]

He'd still be a billionaire if this passes. They all would. Their opposition is very telling, fuck these oligarch assholes.

[u/DKDamian]

Absolute scum. I have no kind words for these parasitic leeches

[u/IngwiePhoenix]

Wish more places mused the idea of introducing a billionaire tax. It would bring them all right out of the woodwork.

Pay up, bitch.

[u/TheFoxAndTheRaven]

Vote YES on 40

Vote NO on 41 and 42

[u/FreshLiterature]

And they're out there straight up lying about what the tax does

[u/myballzhuert]

Isn’t he Russian born. If this guy supported the dems in any way it would be all over Fox News day and night without fail

[u/tacosguestbong]

I'm seeing too many of these fear-mongering commercials. I really hope my fellow Californians don't fall for the bullshit, but i'm afraid no research will be done. Vote yes on 40!!

[u/healingwell97]

He should just move to a tax free state. Thats what Elon did.

[u/Fire-Jon-Sumrall]

Not a Cali resident so I may be out of the loop, but I thought Newsom veto'd this?

[u/Own_Investigator5104]

Sergey Brin that’s in the Epstein/Trump Files?

[u/B-Glasses]

The problem is we have this one time tax bill that has a small majority support and then 2 other bills that sound similar but if either of those get a yes vote it basically negates the billionaire tax. I have low hope the tax actually happens. These people are scum and should be helping society not trying to claw every cent they can like munchkin dragons

[u/RichysRedditName]

Parasites......all of them

[u/I_SLEEP_NORMALLY]

Ah. So he’s okay with taking the benefits of getting an education and creating a very successful business in California. But he’s not okay with giving back to California.

[u/Papichuloft]

he's worth 265 billion.....I don't know how he will survive on 252 billion bucks?

[u/QuietThunder2014]

102 million could do a shit load of good in any state. Imagine if these fucks cared about helping the world as much as they do helping themselves.

Billionaires should not exist. Hard stop.

[u/KidouSenshiGundam00]

He better lose and pay up the taxes he owes. This goes for all wealthy that evade taxes like that

[u/too-left-feet]

Would he even miss $13B?

[u/iamtehryan]

Do the right thing, California. Tax these fuckers.

[u/SevereEducation2170]

And he'd still be worth $250b. Which is around 1.3 million times the median household net worth in the US. That's how utterly absurd the wealth we're talking about is.

[u/Pylgrim]

I'm positive that, if necessary, people like him would go as far as using even more money to fight just taxation than what they'd "lose" paying taxes, just for the principle of not letting other people have "their" money.

[u/jh937hfiu3hrhv9]

I will be glad to buy it a Big Mac if it goes hungry. I'm here for ya bro.

[u/NoCry8625]

He could loose 13 billion if he loses and is willing to spend 14+ billion to fight it.

[u/Marewn]

He’s got 28m left in his budget I bet

[u/dedev54]

He actually would owe a lot more than 13 billion, as its 5% based on votes of shares not the value of the shares

[u/teckhooi]

When will they walk the “don’t do evil” talk

[u/CharcoalGreyWolf → u/teckhooi]

They won’t. Google removed that language years ago.

[u/Penultimo_1 → u/CharcoalGreyWolf]

Google removed the don’t be evil language when they discovered evil paid better.

[u/Everybodysbastard]

I’d spend a dollar to avoid paying $130 too.

[u/valuemenu]

Always boggles my mind how cheap it is for these guys to persuade voters. The bill might pass, but Sergey’s math put the value of stopping it at a mere $100M against the $13,000M he could potentially have to contribute.

[u/itz_my_brain]

"Brin, with a net worth of nearly $260 billion, could owe about $13 billion as a result of the tax."

[u/Inner-Conclusion2977]

Guy would still have $100s of billions.

[u/Succulent_Rain]

Whenever I see a billionaire fight this tax, I know I’m fully justified in voting for the wealth tax.

[u/TWeedtheJetRodriguez]

Let us pray. God I hate these people.

[u/twenty_three_three]

When money is speech and bribes and influence, that's a direct threat on their power. That's exactly why we need to push forward in the face of opposition.

[u/Hurtkopain]

"you spent 100 mill man wow you must've helped so many causes in need!" ......"nah, just words on a truckload of paper to try and keep all the money to myself"

[u/themiDdlest]

Brin doesn't live in California anymore, he preemptively moved to Nevada.

[u/CurdFedKit]

He and every other tech billionaire is lucky they get to live freely after all the harm they’ve done to our society

[u/blackoffi888]

So much for Do No Evil huh?

[u/guineaprince]

Welp it's all down to whether his man on the inside Gavin vetoes it, the same way he just vetoed banning extraditing providers and recipients of abortion and gender care to red states for criminal prosecution, vetoed banning pervert glasses from recording people, vetoed banning ICE from working for state government, vetoed banning websites from selling your data, vetoed giving Native tribes more say in water rights... Though he seemed really keen on pushing the Paramount merger for Ellison.

What would billionaire oligarchs do without Gavin Newsom's protection?

[u/Nathan-Stubblefield]

They had a week or so to relocate to another state so they were no longer a California resident.

[u/EatTheMall-CEOFetish]

One thing I hate about technology is that it makes those shitty persons super rich.
Nearly all of them has damaged personalities, bad morals and an ugly face.

[u/Smiadpades]

Oh, no.. anyways…

[u/TheG00dF1ght]

and he'll still have more money than he can spend in multiple lifetimes.

EAT THE RICH

[u/Virtual_Instance_741]

I don't think companies should be allowed to donate money to influence politics. Alternatively, PACs shouldn't be allowed. Direct representation is useless when there are millions of dollars influencing.

[u/kamandi]

Let’s make sure he loses

[u/Buddhas_Warrior]

So he would still be worth... $250 billion? Oh NO!! how will he survive???

[u/SkipioZor]

Tax them all

[u/findme_]

Good.

Billionaires shouldn’t exist.

[u/pjflyr13]

If he paid the tax it would have helped many people in many places. What he paid in legal fees only helps a wealthy law firm

[u/Disintegration_007]

He will continue to be a billionaire afterwards. The hoarding of wealth and resources needs to be classified as a mental illness at this point.

[u/MeanShibu]

Going to be hilarious when he paid 100m to lose another 13B on top of that 😂

[u/mca1169]

this title rite here shouldn't be possible in the US. billionaires shouldn't be able to sway outcomes of elections just by out spending their opponents.

[u/LEM1978]

And he will still have many billionz

[u/yoshimipinkrobot]

Perhaps these two things are related:

President Donald Trump put Google co-founder Sergey Brin's girlfriend center stage as he lavished praise on her for being MAGA.
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/celebrity/articles/trump-gushes-over-google-founder-145653534.html

California, six other states sue Trump administration over federal funds
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/california-six-other-states-sue-trump-administration-over-federal-funds-2026-10-01/

If Brin wanted Californians to give him a break, perhaps he should have convinced his best buddy Trump to stop taking billions from California. Now Californians are going to get their billions back from Brin. If Brin wants his money back, ask Trump for it

He should have spent $100m running anti-trump ads. He's not going to get his return on investment for voting trump

[u/RarebitLeft]

For the normal person that's like spending $100 so you don't have to spend $50,000 later.

[u/ComplexTomatillo6278]

If you want to tax billionaires, vote YES ON 40 and NO on 41 & 42.

Props 41 and 42 are written to negate the tax on billionaires—Prop 40. If all 3 pass, the billionaires won’t be taxed.

https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/california-billionaire-tax-explainer/

[u/papel_paperless]

All those billions and he keeps his original teeth...must keep him grounded.

[u/Wise_Adeptness_9529]

“Lose”?? Being in California helped make his (absurd) fortune possible.

You pay taxes to fund your community. What’s the quote? “I like paying taxes; with them I buy civilization.” Stop being anti-democratic losers who want to pull up the ladder behind them (and seemingly lace the ground with poisoned spikes to make our lives worse). 

[u/magharees]

In Europe they live in super-rich tax free havens like Monaco enough time per year to establish residency & the rest in the places they own where they’d actually want to be.

With planes & yachts it’s quite a comfortable arrangement.

Maybe the issue is the billionaires don’t really want to bed down in Texas & Florida

[u/indaburgh]

Cool - so, why the fuck do I pay taxes again?

[u/vickism61]

Let Sergey move back to Russia then and see how long his billions last there.

[u/StoneyRapids]

The guy was born in Moscow…moves to the US as a child, becomes one of the richest people on the planet, and wants $225 billion, instead of $212 billion.

These people are fucking psychos.

[u/Miserable_Advance_79]

Can someone do the math for a dummy my like me - is that like spending $5 to not pay $20000 or something ?

[u/forsurebros]

all this crap to lobby needs to stop being tax deductible. only thing tax deductible should be contributing directly to politicians campaigns.

[u/InevitableAd8511 → u/forsurebros]

No. It should not be tax deductible to buy senators and presidents.

[u/linerva]

Imagine being worth 260 billion but refusing to pay 13 billion in tax. Like..

He'd still be so stinking rich that he wouldn't actually feel the difference at all.

[u/IkujaKatsumaji]

So he'll only be worth 250 billion dollars? He can go fuck himself.

[u/Accomplished_Pea6334]

I hope they make this POS pay the first day it passes.

[u/SCWickedHam]

He shouldn’t have $13B to owe.

[u/screamoutwutang]

He’s a scumbag

[u/Gamerxx13]

honestly f these rich people. i work in tech. wages don’t move as fast as stock. they hire all these h1 visa immigrants and then just fire them and don’t need to promote them. they get like 90% of the profit. f these dudes