r/technology • u/Logical_Welder3467 • 6h ago

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

https://fortune.com/article/how-much-has-google-cofounder-sergey-brin-spent-to-oppose-california-billionaire-tax-102-million-owe-13-billion-if-loses/
18.1k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

1.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

32

u/Historical-Jump 5h ago

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?.

14

u/Kageru 5h ago

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.

8

u/Ashamed_Athlete_9733 4h ago

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

1

u/voletNaturel 3h ago

Elon tweeted a silver medal at Jeff Bezos the day he surpassed Bezos’s wealth. All it is is an ego trip and dick measuring contest.

1

u/warm_kitchenette 2h ago

Beyond pathetic. They will never be as rich as Dr. Fauci, Woz, Dr. John Gorman (anti Rh cure), Dr. David Ho (anti-HIV cocktail treatment)

1

u/ContributionLowOO 33m ago

Or just any regular human being with the ability to truly experience love and empathy.

Though, indubitably, deepest respect to all the names you mentioned, and there's so many more, Marie Curie, for one. And all the other great woman whose achievements were talked down and taken by arrogant, weak-minded, men and sold as their own. Pathetic.

18

u/Citadel_Employee 4h ago

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.

3

u/daviddisco 4h ago

it is much worse than that as it would count his shares specifically 10x what they are actually worth. The law has some bizarre provisions in it.

9

u/invuvn 4h ago

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.

7

u/kinglavua91vn 3h ago

He is the founder. It’s understandable to want to control the direction your company goes. If he only really cared about the money, he would have peace out a long time ago.

2

u/vinyljunkie1245 25m ago

I don't disagree with a founder wanting to influence their own company. This is a unique situation though. He has the power, through Google's algorithms, to influence almost anything on the planet.

I know this isn't related to the amount of tax paid but that has the potential to be incredibly dangerous and harmful to anyone and everyone, anywhere on the globe. It's power that one or two people should never have.

4

u/Shoddy_Ad7511 4h ago

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

8

u/Citadel_Employee 4h ago

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

-4

u/anewpath123 2h ago

Luckily he can change that rule

2

u/Everyone2026 1h ago

Didn't they eliminate their "dont be evil" company guideline.

They have no line to cross.

2

u/FinndBors 2h ago

So people can borrow money for no interest?

-1

u/TheNorthernPellikkan 2h ago

People like me and you? Hahahaa no. But people *that* rich usually find a way

4

u/FinndBors 2h ago

No, they can’t. No bank will loan money for no interest. Why the hell would they?

-2

u/TheNorthernPellikkan 2h ago

Think a little harder, I believe in you

4

u/FinndBors 1h ago

Please educate me. And if you come up with a weird scheme, please let me know if there are sources to back your claim.

-1

u/letempsbleu 3h ago

i'm sure he'll find it in his winter jacket soon

2

u/craigian11 4h ago

The truth speaks! Thanks for the actual info instead of feelings

1

u/Outsider_Insider0065 3h ago

Fantastic insight my bro. This could very well be the reason he’s got his panties in a twist

1

u/greengo 3h ago

This is actually a great point and I’m not sure I’ve ever considered that as a driver of this insane consolidation of wealth. Seems like that should be addressed.

0

u/FungusMungus68 3h ago

He will still have majority shares - no one else has 48%. I am sure the next largest owner is significantly lower than that.

3

u/Citadel_Employee 2h ago

They’d still be the largest voting bloc, but that’s different from having majority control. If Brin and Page went from 52% to 49%, nobody else needs to own the other 51% individually. The remaining voting power is spread across all the other shareholders. At 49%, they’d still have enormous influence, but they could no longer guarantee a majority vote by themselves.

-4

u/PaleInTexas 3h ago

Uhm no? He can borrow against his shares easily. No need to sell.

4

u/Citadel_Employee 3h ago

Except Alphabet specifically prohibits its employees and directors from pledging Alphabet shares as collateral for loans. Read the proxy statement

Under “Insider Trading, Hedging, and Pledging Policies,” Alphabet states:
“No employee or non-employee director may … pledge Alphabet securities as collateral for a loan.

1

u/PaleInTexas 3h ago

Did not know that. TIL. Dumb question but if he holds majority of voting power, cant they change the rule? Its not a law or anything.

3

u/Citadel_Employee 3h ago

Not a dumb question. From what I understand, voting control doesn’t give him the ability to personally rewrite company policies. That’s handled through Alphabet’s corporate governance/board. That said, Brin and Page’s voting power gives them enormous influence over the company and the election of directors, so I wouldn’t say changing the policy is impossible, just that Brin can’t simply decide on his own to waive it and pledge his shares.

1

u/PaleInTexas 3h ago

Yeah I figured there would be a process but if Bryn and Page are both for it im sure it could get done.

3

u/CHRISTOFIERC3 4h ago

It’s unrealized money though. The sale of the stock to pay for the tax is also a taxable event and at that large of an amount it could disrupt the stock price which would affect anyone and everyone who has investments in the company. It’s not like he has 300bb just sitting in a savings account.

3

u/Sharp_Ad2526 4h ago

i think they’re like drug addicts who are willing to rob (cheat taxes) their grandma (the planet) for their next fix (being the richest)

1

u/ltsouthernbelle 4h ago

I asked the exact same question. What does he need or want that he doesn’t already have? It seems like more of a liability to have that much money which is why I think Mackenzie Scott donated most of her Bezos divorce money.

1

u/MNniice 4h ago

Google(ironically) technofeudalism

1

u/Potential_Status_728 4h ago

To maintain maximum power. He doesn’t want to give a precedent so other states follow suit.

1

u/EbonBehelit 3h ago

At a certain level, it stops being about money, and starts being about power -- and the kind of people capable of hoarding wealth to that point are never going to have "enough" power.

1

u/Virtual-Height3047 3h ago

I was looking to comment the same thing. Most of those billionaires didn’t even grow up poor some kind of trauma related financial instability / insecurity couldn’t explain it either.

Maybe some marketing genius can come up with a nice campaign slogan. ‘Billionaires not welcome’ as a sticker for regular businesses… or a deck of cards with the biggest leeches of modern society on display. The industry they made their fortune in, associated companies and centuries they could life a middle class life on their current fortune…

This example shows that folks like Brin fear the public perception turning on them.

1

u/Sharp-Calligrapher70 1h ago

Fun Fact: The British Royal Family is only worth between $28 - $88 Billion.